The United Broilers Raisers Association (UBRA) is worried about the adverse effects of the oversupply in local chicken production as the enhanced community quarantine is not yet totally lifted over NCR.
The UBRA emphasized a whopping oversupply of chicken mainly caused by higher outputs and closure of markets. Thirty percent of local chicken production are bought by hotels, restaurants, and institutional buyers which are mostly closed right now.
UBRA President Atty. Bong Inciong said the “demand is poor” and there are no longer cold storage facilities available.
The UBRA has projected frozen chicken inventory to reach 90 million kilos. The status quo triggered farm gate prices of chicken to drop from the Php 70 to Php 75 range to Php 50 to Php 65 range, resulting in the halt in businesses of small and medium poultry raisers.
The UBRA is now urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to temporarily suspend importation of chicken to save the local poultry industry.
Meanwhile, the DA asked LGUs anew to buy the product of local farmers. – Report from Cleizl Pardilla
