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Thursday, April 15, 2004
Poultry, livestock businesses good: DA 7
THE livestock and poultry industries have vast potential this year, said a government official.
With the passing of the bird-flu scare, the demand for chicken and other poultry products has recovered in the market, according to Joel Furumba, officer in charge of the Department of Agriculture 7’s Livestock Division.
As of yesterday’s survey conducted in market areas like Taboan, Carbon, Colonnade Mall and Gaisano Metro, the price of chicken (broiler) had picked up from its usual price of P72-78 a kilo to P90-95 a kilo.
On the other hand, the price of beef had come to a range of P144-148 a kilo from its usual price of P140-145/kilo, while the price of pork ranged from P142-143/kilo compared to last month’s P130-135 a kilo.
“One of the reasons for the rise in the demand for meat and meat products before was the bird-flu scare. However, with the scare (now) over, and the demand for chicken rising again, there is still the constant high demand for meat and meat products due to the sprouting of many barbecue grills and restaurants in Cebu and Mandaue City area,” Furumba said.
At present, the livestock industry is still struggling to meet this demand.
“One of the reasons for the low production of livestock is the price increase in livestock feeds. There isn’t much the industry can do regarding the cost of feed ingredients, because these are imported,” said Furumba.
But he said there was now a move from the government to import these feed ingredients from other countries but this time with less or no tariffs.
As regards crop production, especially of rice and corn, Cebu produces only 28 percent of what it consumes, according to Jorge Paculba, OIC of the DA 7’s Crop Section.
“The low supply of rice and corn production can be attributed mostly to the high price of fertilizer and the lack of rice fields to plant these crops, as well as the intense heat of the sun in the previous year,” he said.
On the other agricultural products, Furumba said: “The goat industry in Central Visayas is the largest in population compared to other areas, making it the main supplier to Luzon.”
Egg production in the region, on the other hand, is concentrated 98 percent in Cebu, of which 80 percent comes from Bantayan Island, with an estimated two million birds (layers) in the area.
“The egg industry is able to export its products to other areas like Mindanao, Bacolod and Iloilo,” he said. Lady Nice M. Taneo/UP Mass Comm intern
(April 15, 2004 issue)
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