July 20, 2022

Philippine lawmaker highlights quality of chicken, not supply, as key problem

Amid reports that chicken dishes are unavailable in restaurants in the Philippines, a local lawmaker expressed a need to boost the production of corn as an essential feed source for poultry.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said the woes of fast-food chains over chicken seem to be a problem with the "quality" of chicken being produced.

The lawmaker said he had talked with chicken suppliers and broiler raisers, who said the problem is "not a shortage of headcount, but quality of chickens being produced."

"Broiler raisers have brought to my attention the fact that they are not meeting the standards set by their buyers," Salceda said. "That, I attribute the nearly 50% increase in the prices of corn feed year-on-year. As much as 60% of costs to broiler raising costs are attributable to corn. So you would expect some broiler raisers to cut back on corn feed, leading to weight issues in produce."

Referring to fast food restaurant Jollibee's famous "Chickenjoy" fried chicken, he added: "The result is chickens are basically malnourished — ‘ChickenSad'. Essentially, they are ‘ChickenJoyless'. So supermarkets and restaurants don't want to serve them."

Salceda suggested a "stronger and more aggressive national corn programme" since corn is an essential feed source for poultry.

For starters, local production of corn should be beefed up during the corn season that began this month and will end with a harvest in September.

"We should ensure delivery of services under the National Corn Program within the peak crop season this July to September. That will be extremely essential to solving the poultry supply quality problem," Salceda said.

"Fertiliser will be the most crucial assistance. Any pending fertiliser assistance programmes will also have to be released in strategic corn-producing locations within this peak season. The fastest way to do that is through fertiliser discount coupons. The effect will be immediate on yield."

Salceda also said the enactment of a livestock, poultry and dairy development law will help address the structural constraints within the livestock and poultry sectors.

- Inquirer