The farm-gate prices of chicken rose by over 10 percent in the past week after huge firms, such as San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. and Bounty Fresh, sold poultry in supermarkets at a bargain.
However, United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) President Elias Jose Inciong said it remains to be seen whether the selling spree by integrators would ignite a rally of farm-gate prices, which have been sinking in recent months.
“There was an increase [in farm-gate prices] but prices remain unstable. It can still collapse anytime,” Inciong told the BusinessMirror. “[San Miguel] sold chicken in supermarkets at a bargain. It may have created some space in cold storages.”
The latest price monitoring by Ubra showed that the average farm-gate price of regular broiler as of January 18 went up by 10 percent to P66 per kilogram, from the P60 per kg recorded on January 11. Also, the farm-gate price of prime-sized chicken rose by 14.43 percent to nearly P70 per kg, from the previous week’s average of P61 per kg.
Despite this, Inciong said poultry raisers continue to incur losses as the production cost is still at P80 to P85 per kg. He noted that demand for chicken during the first quarter is usually soft as consumers tend to prioritize immediate needs such as the payment of tuition.
“Production has been cut by almost 50 percent all over the country, while some raisers are absolutely [in] wait-and-see [mode]. Some raisers have already extended their production cycles to 90 days from the usual 60 days, which is already a 30-percent reduction in production,” Inciong said.
Ubra and the Department of Agriculture (DA) said cold storages, particularly in Metro Manila, are filled to the brim and can no longer accommodate additional chicken from local producers.
Monitoring conducted by the BusinessMirror in some local supermarkets showed that prices of some branded chickens, such as Bounty Fresh and San Miguel’s Magnolia Fresh Chicken, declined by as much as 31 percent from their previous quotations.
Magnolia chicken is sold at P90 per kg from the previous P131 per kg tag, while Bounty Fresh chicken is sold at P99 per kg. Consumers may now purchase house-brand SM Bounty at P95 per kg with some being sold at P88 per kg for a bundle of five whole dressed chicken. SM Bounty Chicken retailed in recent weeks at P129 per kg.
“San Miguel and Bounty have a lot of supply. They would not bring down their prices if they do not have too much supply,” Inciong said. “Remember, cold storages are now tight and it is not a profitable option for everyone to prolong storing at cold storages because it would be too expensive.”
Previous market monitoring by the DA showed that the retail prices of dressed chicken in Metro Manila wet markets have declined by almost P5 per kg to P131 per kg on January 14, from P136.83 per kg recorded on January 11.
Latest price monitoring report by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as of the second week of January, indicated that the average retail price of dressed chicken in National Capital Region remained at P150 per kg since the start of the year.