MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture is studying the possibility of imposing a suggested retail price (SRP) on chicken amid the spike in the retail cost after it reached as high as P210 per kilo, a ranking official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said yesterday.
In an interview over dzBB radio, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said that Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. had already ordered a study on how to strengthen the implementation of an SRP amid previous experiences where there was non-compliance on the part of the traders.
“The DA continues to study (the imposition of an SRP) because that is an instrument or tool within our disposal, but we know the effect of the SRP as it is not being followed. That’s the reason why the secretary directed us to study on how to strengthen it,” De Mesa added.
In an earlier interview with The STAR, poultry raisers’ group United Broiler Raisers Association and Philippine Egg Board chairman Gregorio San Diego said the retail price of chicken went up to P210 per kilo amid the drop in local production as poultry raisers suffered losses amid the flooding of imported frozen products.
De Mesa said that aside from the SRP, Laurel had directed concerned DA officials to review all the laws and policies currently affecting the agricultural sector and to draft recommendations to Congress or to amend the issuances at the department.
He maintained that the retail price of chicken should not reach P200 per kilo, stressing that beyond P190 per kilo is already overpriced.
At the same time, he maintained that there is enough production of local chicken, saying that despite small broilers stopping their operations, the commercial farms continue to operate.