“There is a huge supply of poultry and farmgate prices are falling, but retail is not so we will recommend to the DTI the lowering of retail prices,” said Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala.

United Broilers Integrators Association (UBRA) president Gregorio San Diego said the average liveweight price of chicken has fallen to P78 per kilogram (kg) while dressed poultry is sold in markets at P130 per kg.

He said chicken growers are incurring losses because production costs have risen to P70 per kilogram.

Mr Alcala said based on the latest field monitoring of DA, the farmgate price of a live chick has now fallen to P5 apiece from P20 apiece months ago.

Chicken production in the first semester of the year rose year-on-year in terms of volume and value, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

Chicken production consisted of broiler meat, meat of native and improved breed of native chicken, meat of culled layers and breeders, and meat of culled game fowls.

The volume of chicken production for the first semester of the year was placed at 758,680 metric tons (MT), up 5.05 per cent from the output of 722,210 MT in the same period last year.

Broilers accounted for 74.66 per cent of the total chicken production for the period.

The gross value of chicken production at current prices was placed at P63 billion, up 7.18 per cent in the same period last year.

In the first six months of the year, the country’s total chicken population was placed at 176.85 million birds, 4.05 per cent higher than last year’s headcount of 196.97 million birds.