Farm-gate price of broiler drops by 10%–Ubra
THE average farm-gate price of broilers fell by 10 percent to P110 per kilogram as supply outpaced demand, which weakened due to the imposition of the price ceiling on chicken meat.
United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) data as of February 26 showed that the average farm-gate price of broilers ranged from P109.75 per kg to P110.28 per kg, depending on size.
Ubra data indicated that the average farm-gate price of regular-sized broilers declined by 9.43 percent to P110.50 per kg from the previous week’s P122 per kg.
The group’s data also showed that the average farm-gate price of off-sized broilers fell to P109.75 per kg from P120.5 per kg while the average farm-gate price of prime sized broilers slid to P111.28 per kg from P123.43 per kg.
Ubra President Elias Jose Inciong attributed the drop in farm-gate prices to the decline in demand due to price ceiling on dressed chicken set by the government.
Inciong added that market vendors and traders reduced their orders from farms since they would not be able to meet the mandated price ceiling of P160 per kg.
“Realities of the price ceiling. It has artificially dampened demand at the farm-gate,” he told the Businessmirror.
“As a natural consequence, ordinary producers will be very wary about loading for the next cycle given the prices of inputs and difficulties in obtaining DOCS [day old chicks].”
Given the current situation, Inciong said “some growers will either reduce or stop production as it is steadily becoming a more risky proposition because of the price ceiling.”
Due to the drop in supply, an uptick in the farmgate price of broilers may be seen by mid-april, Inciong added.
The average farm-gate price of broilers has been above P110 per kg for more than a month now, raising concerns from the industry that it could be another cause for concern of faster inf lation in the coming months. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/02/09/another-inflation-worry-farm-gatebroiler-price-rises/)
The price of DOCS has remained elevated at the P48-per-piece level, due to the reported contraction in the country’s breeder stocks.
The Businessmirror earlier reported that the country’s dressed chicken inventory as of February 15 declined by more than half to 16,819.49 metric tons (MT) from 38,008.71 MT last year.
Latest National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) data showed that bulk of the volume was imported or about 10,771.80 MT, while the remaining volume of 6,047.69 MT was locally produced.
NMIS data also showed that the latest inventory as of mid-february was flat from the previous week’s 16,739.24 MT.
However, the volume was 35 percent lower than the 25,924.54 MT recorded inventory in the previous month, based on NMIS data.
Inciong said the February 15 inventory “is not a comfortable level” given the disruptions in trade caused by Covid-19 and the rising demand for chicken meat due to higher pork prices.