Costlier but lower quality feeds would lead to lower chicken output in the coming months thereby aggravating food security in Luzon. The problem of good quality animal feeds is due to the ongoing war by Russia in Ukraine.
Poultry raising will be challenging in the coming months because of pricier but lower quality feed and poor weather, according to the United Broiler Raisers Association.
UBRA President Elias Jose Inciong said chicken growers in Southeast Asia must compete with the rest of the world for chicken feed, as the war in Ukraine disrupts supplies, reported Bloomberg.
Across Southeast Asia, food costs are rising, hitting domestic supplies and exports. Malaysia recently banned chicken exports due to rising local prices and that hit poultry supplies in neighboring Singapore.
In the Philippines, the cost issue is compounded by high humidity that’s unfavorable to growing chickens, as rainy season came earlier this year.
“Normally, the answer to high humidity would be very good nutrition. The problem is it’s now more difficult to get good-quality feeds because of the high cost of raw materials,” Inciong said on Thursday.
Whole chicken prices in Manila have risen by 25 percent to P200 ($3.75) since the start of the year, agriculture department data showed. Meat price increases quickened by 5.4 percent in May, boosting overall inflation to its fastest since November 2018.
Higher chicken prices could, however, ultimately boost production, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes said adding that the Philippines’ total chicken output fell by 3.6 percent last year to 1.7 million metric tons.
BOI oks chicken project in Mindanao
Meanwhile the Board of Investments said it approved the registration of a P118.5-million broiler chicken farm in South Cotabato of RCB Poultry Farm, which has an annual capacity of 3.36 million kilos of broiler chickens.
“The operation of the farm is seen as a significant project to ward off the threat of supply disruption should Region 12 (Soccsksargen) and its nearby regions were to be affected by the avian flu… as the localized source of chicken or chicken meat entails less biosecurity risk,” the BoI said.
The BoI said that the project will use modern methods to grow poultry at reduced cost in feed, water, and energy.
It added that the project was endorsed by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez called the project “innovative.”
According to the BoI, the operator will go into a contract growing agreement with a large food corporation, reducing the need to import chicken at a time of massive disruption in the global supply of food.
It added that the approved project will raise Soccsksargen’s chicken production by up to 2.71 percent.
“Chicken meat is… the second most-consumed meat-type after pork, based on the Supply Utilization Accounts of the Philippine Statistics Authority on Livestock and Poultry,” the BoI said.
“While there is no expected shortage of chicken meat this year, according to the DA, local production needs to reach at least 1.34 million metric tons to achieve at least 90 percent self-sufficiency,” it added.
Tags: #Lowerchickenoutput, #lowerqualityfeeds, #tighteningchickensupply, #agriculture