Poultry raisers woe lack of government support, strict border controls
Poultry raisers warned of possible shortage of chicken and chicken products in the next two quarters following a shortfall in production.
“We are in a very challenging situation,” said the president of the United Broilers and Raisers Association (UBRA), Elias Jose Inciong, adding that a shortage would ensue if production problems were not addressed.
A number of restaurants—including fast food establishments—have been complaining of a tightness in the supply of dressed chicken for their requirements.
While dressed chicken prices averaged about P130 per kilogram in Luzon, groceries, and supermarkets sell at an average of P150 to P160 per kilo Choice cut chicken cut-ups sell at an average of P180 a kilo.
The group advised President Marcos, who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), to craft a plan to boost yield and optimize border controls to prevent zoonotic diseases from reaching the local poultry population.
Inciong added that the President should not listen to “false narratives.”
He added that the poultry sub-sector is not protected from surges in imports, as some DA officials claim. Neither has it benefited from government support, he said.
“There is no support. There is no plan. We never received the kind of support other countries are giving to their agriculture sector. Those who are still in the sector are surviving on their own, not because of the government,” Inciong said.
Despite an expansion in production by 12.3 percent in the first quarter of 2022, supply is not enough to keep up with the growing demand.
On Monday, the DA’s Bantay Presyo (Price Watch) showed that the prevailing market price for whole chicken in Metro Manila now ranges from P190 to P220 per kilogram, higher than the price range last June 30, except for Malabon and Commonwealth Market, which maintained their lower prices.
As of end-June, the price of a whole chicken only ranged from P181 per kilo to P205 per kilo.
The DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said the low supply of chicken was due to the bird flu threat, which earlier caused them to impose stricter interzonal transport of poultry products.
The BAI said it has eased some of those measures to ensure that supply and prices remain stable.
“Among the measures being undertaken is allowing inter-island movement from mainland Luzon of day-old chicks, hatching eggs and ready to lay pullets,” BAI officer-in-charge (OIC) Reildrin Morales said in a statement Monday.
However, only avian influenza (AI)-free day-old chicks and hatching eggs will be allowed for inter-island movement.
“Movement is allowed provided they tested negative for AI 28 days from the date of sample collection. For ready-to-lay pullets, movement is allowed provided they tested negative for AI 14 days from the date of sample collection,” the BAI said.
Morales vowed to closely coordinate with the private sector to monitor supply and ensure the stable price of chicken and eggs.
Last week, Jollibee and McDonald’s Philippines confirmed that some of their stores have temporarily stopped offering certain chicken products due to “unavailability of chicken supply that meet their standards and specifications.”
In separate statements, the food giants said the chickens were just too small or too light for their requirements.
The rising cost of poultry feeds has made it hard for local farmers to find quality chicken for their broilers.
Imported chicken is also not an option, as dwindling stocks are exacerbated by runaway fuel prices and the disruptions in the global supply chain triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We continue to serve chicken products in our stores. There are only a number of stores that temporarily don’t offer certain chicken products due to an increase in demand and unavailability of chicken supply that meet our standards and specifications, serving only our best to customers,” said Adi Timbol-Hernandez, corporate relations director of McDonalds’ Philippines.
Also on Monday, Senator Joel Villanueva said they are ready to coordinate with the Executive department in declaring a state of emergency in the agriculture sector to prevent a food crisis and achieve sufficiency.
The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. said a state of emergency or calamity will encourage local governments to direct some funds to the agricultural sector.
Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, said the crisis on food security did not happen overnight, but it was brought about by those pushing for wider importation that disadvantaged local farmers.
She also said it is a culmination of the worsening problems faced by the agricultural sector.
In fact, during the 18th Congress, she said the Senate committee of the whole already tackled the issue on agricultural smuggling, which brought into light just how pervasive and deeply rooted the problems are in this sector. She said farm produce continues to be imported without sanitary phytosanitary safeguards, and full digitalization of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) system remains “a far-away dream.”
“The call to declare a state of emergency on the current food crisis is only viable if it comes with absolute transparency on the steps to be taken, as well as a much-needed overhaul on and the full digitalization of BOC system and processes—measures which are long overdue,” Poe said.
She said agriculture requires careful planning and long-term commitment.
The senator cited a more permanent approach in the framework of the Right to Adequate Food—a bill which she had filed over and over again including in this Congress.
This proposed measure, she said, seeks to establish a legal framework for the recognition and protection of the right to adequate food.“We’re open to discussing possible solutions to this crisis with the new administration and I believe that the President personally taking the helm of the Department of Agriculture signifies just how important this crisis is,” she said. “We must move quickly.”