The supply of chicken in the country is expected to meet the anticipated increase in demand during the holidays, the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) said.
In a statement, the group also said that the poultry industry has been reeling from oversupply for months, which has resulted in declining farmgate prices.
UBRA chairman Gregorio San Diego said that based on the Department of Agriculture’s data, “we will have a chicken surplus good for 114 days by year-end.”
With this, San Diego added that ‘’consumers will have more than enough chicken that they can buy in time for the Christmas season,’’ when demand for chicken and many other farm commodities tends to pick up.
San Diego, quoted by reports, said a 45-day excess is the standard for the poultry industry.
Other agriculture stakeholders also see a stable supply of chickens.
Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) president Edicio dela Torre added that based on the capacity of local producers across the past years, ‘’we have enough supply for the Christmas season, even if we don’t import more.”
“The challenge to local producers is the increased inventory due to previous and new imports,” dela Torre said.
Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director Jayson Cainglet, quoted by GMA News, said that supply will last until the first quarter of 2024. “Imports usually peak in the last quarter, so you can expect more,” Cainglet said.
Cainglet added that farm gate prices will likely be lower, which should translate to lower retail prices.
“One indicator is that we have received reports that prices in some retail markets have gone down below the usual, even dipping below the average cost of local production,” dela Torre said.
Inventories in cold storage facilities are also overflowing, San Diego added. UBRA, citing DA data, said that chicken imports have reached 290 million kilos as of end-August this year, higher than the 245 million kilos in the same period in 2022.
Another factor is the reduced consumption among Filipinos, which is down by 20 percent, according to SINAG. “Because of the high prices of commodities, Filipino families are forced to eat less meat such as pork and chicken,” Cainglet said.