SUPPLY of chicken in the market will remain sufficient for the holiday season even without additional imports amid oversupply of the commodity.
Agriculture stakeholders maintained that the poultry industry is still suffering from oversupply for months now which continues to result in declining farmgate prices.
As such, the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) maintained that consumers will have more than enough chicken that they can buy in time for the Christmas season.
Historically, demand for chicken and many other farm commodities tends to pick up in the fourth quarter due to seasonality.
“Based on DA’s (Department of Agriculture) own numbers, we will have a chicken surplus good for 114 days by year end,” UBRA chairman Gegorio San Diego said.
Such level is way more than enough considering that a 45-day excess is the standard for the poultry industry.
Non-government organization Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) also echoed the same sentiment.
“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,” PRRM president Edicio dela Torre said.
“The challenge to local producers is the increased inventory due to previous and new imports,” he said.
Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director Jayson Cainglet, for his part, emphasized that supply will last even until the first quarter of 2024 even if the Philippines does not import. “Imports usually peak in the last quarter so you can expect more,” Cainglet said.
With this, farm gate prices will likely be depressed further which should translate to lower retail prices.
Unfortunately, such is not the case in the market as retail prices remain high.
“The supply of chicken is steady, but with potential increase due to importers anticipating increased demand during the Christmas holidays,” dela Torre said.
“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,” he said.
San Diego argued that an indication that there is so much chicken in the market is that live prices are going down by about P6 per kilogram the past few days. Inventories in cold storages are also overflowing.
Data showed that chicken imports have reached 290 million kilos as of end-August this year, much higher than the 245 million kilos in the same period in 2022.
Also adding to the problem is the relatively low consumption among Filipinos. SINAG estimates that consumption is down by at least 20 percent.
“Because of the high prices of commodities, Filipino families are forced to eat less meat such as pork and chicken,” Cainglet said.
“Contrary to what the government is telling us, the economy is still weak and people have no money,” San Diego added.
Meanwhile, the newly-appointed agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said his priority is to increase food production and modernize agriculture.
He said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. instructed him to modernize agriculture so the country could be food secure and less dependent on imports. PR