Chicken prices up by P10 per kilo – DA

MANILA, Philippines — The retail price of chicken has increased by P10 per kilo as it is being sold for as high as P230 per kilo compared to the previous P220 per kilo, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Based on the DA’s latest monitoring of Metro Manila markets, the retail price of chicken ranged between P170 and P230 per kilo.

On Thursday, it ranged between P170 and P220 per kilo.

Gregorio San Diego, chairman emeritus of the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) and Philippine Egg Board, bewailed the disparity between the farmgate price and the retail cost of chickens.

“The retail price of agricultural products is always far from the farmgate price. Prices of live broilers in the farms ranged from P120 to P127 per kilo,” San Diego told The STAR.

 Based on UBRA’s monitoring of the farmgate price of chicken in Luzon, it is P119 per kilo in Tarlac, P125 per kilo in Batangas, Pampanga, P125 per kilo; Cavite, P125 per kilo and Bulacan, P121 per kilo.

“The broiler farmers decided to lessen their production as they are not earning. They are suffering losses for the last eight months,” San Diego said.

Meanwhile, the DA’s decision to add eggs in relief packs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is a win-win solution amid oversupply and the continued drop in the farmgate price, San Diego said.

In 2010, egg producers proposed to former agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala to add eggs in DSWD’s relief packs, San Diego recalled.

They recently proposed this to Agriculture Undersecretary for livestock Deogracias Victor Savellano, he noted.

The DA is eyeing a collaboration with DSWD to add eggs in disaster relief packs, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said.

“During typhoons and disasters, it is important that the food that we distribute is not only food. Noodles, sardines and canned goods are easy to pack but we need to ensure that there is dignity in the food that we distribute to our fellow Filipinos during disasters so this is a win-win solution. You will be able to help the farmers and provide nutrition to those affected by calamities,” he said.

“Once we determine the number of eggs needed by the DSWD, the (Department of Education), we can easily connect them with egg producers,” he added.

 The Batangas Egg Producers Multipurpose Cooperative has been producing roasted eggs that can last up to six months, De Mesa noted.

“It will cost more compared to raw eggs but efforts are being made to reduce the cost of producing roasted eggs so that it will be sustainable in the long run. It can be restored up to six months as it is already cooked,” he said.

Crop insurance

Former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor yesterday lauded President Marcos’ decision to return to the DA the supervision of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), saying former president Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to transfer it to the Department of Finance (DOF) was illegal.

Executive Order 60 issued by Marcos declared the PCIC an attached agency of the DA.

Montemayor recalled being the principal author of the House version of Republic Act 8175 in 1995, which amended 1978’s Presidential Decree 1467 that created the PCIC.

RA 8175 provided three representatives of small farmers in the PCIC board, he noted.

“Unfortunately, EO 148 issued by Duterte in 2021 transferred PCIC from DA to DOF and reduced farmers’ representatives to one (which), in my view, (is) illegal because an EO cannot amend a law,” he said.

EO 60 restored PD 1467

“Placing PCIC under DA makes better sense because DOF is more concerned with reducing subsidies for programs like insurance, while DA’s objective is to maximize support for farmers so that they can cope with damages caused by El Niño and other severe climate change events,” he explained.

“We are pleased that the PCIC is back under the wings of the DA. This gives us the scope to assure farmers, livestock and poultry raisers, aquaculturists and others in production so we could shield them from losses that may be caused by disasters, pests and diseases,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.