Poultry growers may cut thei r production unti l the first quarter of 2021 to avoid losses due to possible gut caused by imports.
The United Broiler Raisers Association (UB RA) advised poultry producers to be cautious and must not “misread” the current shortage in pork supply as a motivation to produce more.
The group speculates the Department of Agriculture will reduce or eliminate tariffs on pork import s to augment supply and would likely include chicken in the process.
Data from the Bur e au of Animal Industrys howed total volume of chicken imports as of end – September hit 302,741,099 kilograms (kg.), 32 percent higher compared to end-September 2019’s 229, 188, 304 kg.
“As of the start of October 2020, UB RA estimates local production to be down by 30 to 40 percent due to severe market demand contraction. The hotel, restaurants and institutions segment represents 30 percent of the market. There are, as yet, no signs of recovery with hundreds of fastfood outlets closing permanently and with more to come. Consumer income losses, on the other hand, have similarly caused a decline in the household market,” the group said.
The United States Department of Agriculture said Philippine chicken meat production may drop to 15 percent this year as broiler integrators were forced to cut down or delay their production cycles to respond with the weak demand.
According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country produced a total of 1.927 million metric tons (MT) of chicken in 2019 which would mean that this year’s production may only hit 1.64 million MT.
