Chicken prices up; DA blames low production

MANILA, Philippines — The increased prices of whole chicken in markets in Metro Manila is caused by lower local production, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said yesterday.

Latest market monitors from the DA showed that the prevailing price of whole chicken in Metro Manila markets stood at P200 a kilo as of yesterday.

This is P25 higher than the P175 per kilo prevailing price registered exactly a month ago on May 16.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes attributed the higher prices to the reduced supply of broilers.

“Poultry raisers reduced the supply of broilers due to high prices of feeds, fuel and logistics,” Reyes told The STAR.

“But production will perk up due to high chicken prices, hence raisers will load more this time,” Reyes said, adding that broilers can be raised from 32 to 42 days only.

For his part, United Broiler Raisers Association president Jose Elias Inciong said local producers anticipated a need to be cautious after the May 9 elections.

“The projection was (and it came true) that demand would be poor as there would be no more campaign spending. Thus, producers have been very conservative in their production intentions,” Inciong said.

He added that erratic quality of feeds because of disruptions in supply chains coupled with very humid weather caused an underperformance in production.

“This is the reason for the ubiquitous presence of small-sized chickens,” he said.

Asked if local production is seen to remain low moving forward, Inciong said this would depend on demand conditions, arrival of imports and performance of flocks.

Chicken residues

Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) will provide almost P1 million to the San Pedro College of Davao City for research and development on antibiotic residues in poultry chicken meat.

The DOST-PCHRD has approved the grant of P950,000 on a proposed R&D of San Pedro College-Davao for the screening and quantification of antimicrobial residues in chicken meat and tissues using Microbial Inhibition Assay and Enzyme-link Immunosorbent Assay.

The one-year project will detect chicken meat that exhibited microbial inhibition and record the amount of antibiotic residue level of chicken samples.

In animal production and protection, antibiotics are used to prevent and treat several diseases and promote growth in food-producing animals.

The availability of rapid and feasible detections of antimicrobial residues in chicken meat and tissues sold in public and private markets in Davao City will also secure the safety of food consumed by residents.

The funds will cover expenses such as supplies and materials, utilities, facilities and equipment, equipment services and personal services rendered by scientists and project assistants.

The project is funded through the Regional Research Fund, facilitated by the Regional Health Research and Development Consortium, the regional arm of DOST-PCHRD. – Rainier Allan Ronda