By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) in Negros Occidental confirmed yesterday that there had been a big price increase in broiler or dressed chicken.
This comes amid rising prices on other food items such as flour, sugar, and bread.
At present, the price of dressed chicken is running at P225 compared to the previous price of only P130.
Dr. Renante Decena, head of the Negros Occidental PVO, said they also recorded a slight increase in the price of pork and beef products.
However, Decena said based on their price monitoring the price of dressed chicken also goes down depending on the number of chickens that are being slaughtered for consumption every week.
In the southern area of the province which had been badly hit by super typhoon “Odette” in December of last year, the price of dressed chicken is also going up due to low supply.
During “Odette’s” onslaught in the province a lot of broiler farms in southern Negros were either destroyed or suffered extensive damage, which in turn also lowered the supply of dressed chicken.
Decena also pointed out another reason for the price hikes is also due to the price increases in corn and soybeans which are used for making animal feeds.
In this case, the PVO head explained the delivery of soybeans in the country is delayed due to the growing crisis between the United States of America and Russia over Ukraine.
At present, the price of dressed chicken is running at P225 compared to the previous price of only P130.
Decena also said several integrators are now trying to find farms which are offering long contracts, such as five years for tunnel vent and three years for conventional farms.
He is also hoping that by this year, most of the farm infrastructure in the province will also be replaced, although he admitted that a lot of farms are currently facing problems with banking and financing.
Nonetheless, Decena is confident that the production of dressed chicken will be able to recover by this year./DGB, WDJ