Broiler production in the Philippines could grow by 15 to 20 per cent on the back of continuous importation of grandparent and parent day-old chick (DOC) breeders, the Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (Pabi) said.

"The continuous [entry of] grandparent and parent [DOC breeders] will ensure the increase in [broiler] production for the entire year," said Rita Imelda B. Palabyab, president of Pabi, on the sidelines of the recently concluded Investment Forum for Food Security in Asia and the Pacific, reports Business Mirror.

However, Ms Palabyab did not give estimates as to the number of grandparent and parent DOC breeders that have already been imported by the industry.

The Pabi chief, who is also vice president and general manager of the poultry division of San Miguel Foods Inc., noted that there is a glut in the supply of dressed chicken in the market today.

Ms Palabyab explained: "If you talk to the commercial sector today, [commercial raisers] will tell you that they are losing money. Typically, June is a weak month [so] there are lots of chicken in the market today."

She expects farm-gate prices to improve in two weeks. Earlier reports placed farm-gate prices at around P60 per kilogram.

Earlier, the United Broiler Raisers Association had projected that the industry could grow broiler production by 20 per cent to around 630 million birds.

Figures from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) showed that dressed chicken production in the Philippines grew by almost five per cent to 765,589 metric tons (MT) last year.

Despite this, the United States Department of Agriculture noted that the Philippines imported a total of 61,444 metric tons of chicken meat valued at US$35.14 million last year. In terms of volume, this is higher by 40.42 per cent over the level of importation in 2008.

BAS, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, noted that poultry production for 2009 accounted for 14.33 per cent of total agricultural output.

The poultry sub-sector grossed 144.3 billion pesos (PHP) at current prices in 2009. BAS said this is almost 10 per cent higher than the previous year's record, reports Business Mirror.