TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - West Java national chicken breeder association (PPAN) confirmed that there is a price increase for chicken meat from the breeders that caused a price hike at the consumer`s level. “There’s a shortage of supply,” said the Head of PPAN on Friday, January 19.

The drop in supply, according to Herry, is a direct effect of the breeders’ decision to lower their production capacity for the fear of undergoing further losses. “The production capacity is currently 80 percent at best,” he said.

This means that the weekly production of chicken that should reach 60 million per week has now dropped to 45-50 million each week.

Herry said that drop of chicken meat production was driven by the chicken price's fluctuation in the past two years. “The price went as low as Rp14,000 per kilogram last month, while we spent Rp19,000 per kilogram. The government doesn’t show attention when we experience a loss,” he said.

The drop in the production, which was to cover the previous losses, has caused the price of chicken at the farm to rise even further to Rp22,000 per chicken.

The price hike almost drove chicken traders at traditional markets in Bandung Raya to go on strike today. They canceled the strike after a meeting was held between the chicken industry and the West Java Regional Government.

Ahmad Fikri