July 22, 2024

 

Philippine markets see record rise in chicken price as poultry producers cut production

 

 

The price of chicken in public markets in the Philippines has gone up to "a record high," selling for as much as ₱250 (US$4.28) per kilogramme, around ₱5 (US$0.09) to ₱30 (US$0.51) more compared to the week before July 15, as many poultry raisers have reduced production due to importation and after incurring losses last year.

 

However, an official of the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra), composed mostly of small and medium-scale poultry producers, called the prevailing market prices "too high," saying that chicken meat should be sold at just ₱230 (US$3.94) per kilogramme.

 

Based on the monitoring of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the retail price of a kilo of dressed whole chicken ranged from a low of ₱190 (US$3.26) to a high of ₱250 (US$4.28) in Metro Manila markets as of July 15. This was higher than the ₱160 (US$2.74) to ₱200 (US$3.43) per kilogramme recorded around the same period last year. For the week before July 15, the retail chicken prices were between ₱185 (US$3.17) and ₱220 (US$3.77) per kilograme.

 

In the second week of June, the price range for chicken was between ₱160 (US$2.74) and ₱220 (US$3.77).

 

Ubra president Jose Gerardo Feliciano said at the sidelines of the Poultry Show Forum in Pasay City that the selling price for chicken shot up after many local raisers opted to mitigate their losses by reducing production amid the influx into the country of imported chicken. Poultry raisers also decided to hike their prices in one go instead of doing it in tranches, according to Feliciano.

 

"What we noticed is it is an offshoot of what happened last year when many poultry raisers sustained losses," he said. "It's a normal business decision to lower production volume, resulting in lower supply. Of course, one big factor in the pricing of chicken is importation."

 

He added, however, that some industry players might be taking advantage of the current situation, leading to a surge in prices.

 

Still, Feliciano said that the current prices were at a "record high" as the average farm-gate price (or the price between farmers and traders, which is largely influenced by the latter) was at ₱137 (US$2.35) per kilogramme earlier this month compared with ₱118.75 (US$2.04) per kilogramme during the same period last year.

 

"Let us assume the farm-gate price is ₱150 for computation purposes. We see that the retail price should be around ₱220 to ₱230 only," Feliciano noted.

 

But he said retail price was expected to drop by late August as the rainy season bodes well for raising chickens.

 

- Inquirer