Poultry Breeding Threatened

MEDAN(SINDO) – The increase in livestock feed price reached up to 40% in the last three months causing poultry breeding companies in North Sumatra threatened by bankruptcy. The problem is because production cost is way higher than market price of day old chicks (DOC).
Consultant of the Association for Poultry Breeding Companies (Gabungan Perusahaan Pembibitan Unggas / GPPU), IGK Sastrawan, said that currently the market price of DOCs are only about 2,200 rupiahs per chick, while the production cost for each chick reaches up to 2,800 rupiahs. “Since the beginning of this year, the price of feed has increased drastically. Just in the last four months, the feed price has already been raised three times. Because of that, breeding companies in North Sumatra are in a pinch now,” said Sastrawan to SINDO yesterday.

According to Sastrawan, breeding companies with small production capacity will certainly not survive if the feed price continues to increase until next year, while breeding companies with large production capacity could do cost efficiency programs. He said that the government should immediately find a solution for this price increase problem, whether by increasing the local corn production or other kind of solutions.
Because, if breeding companies are ruined, then other poultry companies and feed companies will also be affected. “If they don’t get enough chicks, then broiler or layer companies can not continue their business. If that happens, then who will buy products of the feed company? Hence the government must intervene because the closing of breeding companies has a multiplier effect,” he explained.
Head of the Agribusiness and Agro-Industry Sub-Office of the Livestock Office of North Sumatra, Harapan Hutahuruk, confirmed the problems currently happening to poultry breeding companies. Even some of the small companies will go bankrupt. In North Sumatra there are seven poultry breeding companies. Harapan explained, the public’s lack of poultry meat consumption also contributes to the problems occurring to the companies.
Meanwhile, the Provision Section of PT Charoen Phokpand Indonesia, Adi Laksamana, said that increase of feed price is caused by increase of corn price in the international market. “We are also confused by the continue increase of corn price in the international market. Because of that, our last alternative is by increasing the selling price, 90% of production cost is spent to buy ingredients,” said Adi.
According to Adi, to maintain the market, it is not rare that companies give subsidized price to breeders and farmers. “Sometimes we don’t get any profit from selling feed,” he said. This step, Adi also said, was taken to help breeding companies and poultry companies, because if they are bankrupt they the continuity of the feed company is also threatened. Adi said that each month his company provides 30,000 to 35,000 tons of feed for NAD (Aceh), North Sumatra, Riau, and West Sumatra. Meanwhile for North Sumatra itself, Charoen has a market share up to 40%. (ulfa andriani)
Source: Kompas