POULTRY stakeholders called on the government to come up with long-term solutions to ensure that the Philippines will continue to have enough supply of chicken amid the elevated prices of various commodities.
In a statement, the stakeholders in the poultry sector said that the industry was hit by high inflation, which clocked in at a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January.
United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) chairman Gregorio San Diego said feed prices are at an all-time high, prompting the cost of production to increase as well.
Last year, inflation settled at 5.8 percent following the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war, which affected oil prices and eventually crept into other commodities.
American Chamber of Commerce agribusiness committee chairman Christopher Ilagan said that the poultry sector has heightened its vigilance on pressures that may cause prices to rise, especially input costs, animal disease, and general supply levels.
According to poultry stakeholders, the reduction of corn tariffs managed to help the industry and provided a base to keep prices a bit tempered amid a high-inflation environment.
They said that corn constitutes up to 60 percent of feed costs, while feed costs constitute roughly 70 percent of poultry meat production.
However, to make the tariff reduction effective, Ilagan said the government should rethink the minimum access volume (MAV) of 217,000 metric tons when the deficit is at a high of three to five million MT.
Moving forward, the stakeholders said that rather than looking at reactive solutions like increasing imports, the Philippines needs long-term solutions that support the local value chain.
The government must improve infrastructure to support the value chain as well as rationalize the taxes imposed by national and local governments, said Vitarich spokesperson Karen Jimeno.
Ilagan added that a solution should also be found for the encroachment of residential and commercial areas on agro-industrial zoned areas, which limits space for expansion of the sector.
Further, Jimeno said that the government should eventually steer away from relying on imports of chickens, as doing so is not only ineffective but also harms everyone in the local value chain.
âThe government must create a complete and accurate data system for the whole of agriculture so that Filipino farmers will be properly guided in production,â San Diego added. (GMA Integrated News)
