February 3, 2023

 

Philippines' chicken production to increase in 2023

 

Bong Inciong, the president of the Philippines' United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra), said despite ongoing challenges such as high feed costs and the threat of avian flu, the local broiler chicken industry expects to produce around 1.72 billion kg of dressed chicken this year, slightly higher than last year's level, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

 

Inciong said that local production of one of the most consumed meats in the Philippines would exceed last year's output by 65 to 75 million kg, adding that it will be more by about two weeks' worth of supply compared to last year.

 

He said there are about eight major conglomerates in the local broiler industry, including Filipino firms such as San Miguel Corp. and the Bounty Fresh Group of Companies.

 

Inciong also mentioned the local operations of Charoen Pokphand Group, a Thai conglomerate that is one of the world's largest poultry industry players.

 

Other major players include China's New Hope Group, the American conglomerate Cargill, and companies from Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia.

 

Inciong said there is a lot of competition, but they import the breeders on the assumption that they are efficient and can compete even if it means lower prices as they have the capital to cover costs.

 

Despite this optimistic outlook, Inciong said that they anticipate several challenges this year that could stifle the overall growth of the Philippines' chicken industry.

 

He cited high and increasing costs of feed as one of the factors driving up the prices of products.

 

He said they use local corn for feed, which is cheaper than imports, but because of what happened in the swine industry, local corn producers reduced their output. 

 

He also said that rising logistics costs are a major challenge, specifically that freight costs have nearly doubled in recent years.

 

-      Philippine Daily Inquirer