July 1, 2008

Many poultry businesses in Jayapura, Indonesia are close to bankruptcy due to low chicken prices, high feed prices and regional competition.
 

Sales price is at IDR 23,000 (US$2.5) per chicken, a price so poor that hatches have been left empty since April, according to Julianti, owner of Bunga Tani poultry firm.

No profits can be made at that price and chicken sales are also suffering due to frequent blackouts and growing chicken imports from Surabaya in East Java, Julianti said.

The frequent electricity cuts have killed many day-old-chickens.

Price for a 50-kg sack of feed is now IDR 306,000 (US$33.3), up from IDR 250,000 (US$27.2) in January, a price that current chicken prices are unable to match, Julianti said.

Eni Sumarsih, a chicken trader at Yotefa market, said she sold a maximum of 50 chickens per day, a drastic drop from her usual 300 in the past. She said supermarkets dominate distribution of chickens and it is a difficult for chicken traders to compete.

Jayapura egg farmers are having an equally hard time as well, as most eggs sold in the region are imported eggs.