Drought, Disease Push Fowl Price Up, Pork Down
PHILLIPINES - Prices of poultry products remain high while the price for pork dipped slightly as the prolonged dry spell and hog cholera continue to plague the agriculture sector.According to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, many poultry producers are now complaining that their stocks could not grow quickly because of the extended hot weather.
"Extended ang dry period, inamin ng poultry producers ang kanilang stock natagalan ng paglaki. Ito ang third-quarter syndrome, mabagal ang paglaki ng sisiw pag tag-init (The extended dry period caused chicks to grow slower. This is known as the third-quarter syndrome, where the hot weather slows down growth)," Yap said in an interview on dzRH radio.
He said this caused a delay in "harvesting" of chicks, which in turn causes delayed supply levels and tightness of supply.
As a result, he said prices of chicken remain at P120 per kilo, and P130 per kilo in markets in remote areas. He said the price would have been P100 to 105 per kilo at this time of year in past years.
Yap said they expect the prices of chicken meat to normalize by "end of August."
On the other hand, prices of pork dipped slightly Friday morning, following reports Thursday that swine hog cholera hit several pig farms in Bulacan province.