Trade Minister Unhappy with Broiler Chicken Price Drop
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18 August 2022 15:13 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan on Thursday paid a visit to the West Tomang Market in West Jakarta on Thursday to keep tabs on the prices of staple goods and supplies. After his visit, he said there were several commodities that dropped in price, among others was broiler chicken.
However, surprisingly the Minister was not contented with this situation and lamented that it would be a loss for chicken traders.
“I am not happy. I pity chicken farmers,” said the Minister on August 18.
The price of broiler chickens in the market fell quite sharply from Rp38,818 to Rp26,000 per chicken. Zulkifli assumed that with the current price of chicken, traders buy cheaper wholesalers or around Rp20,000 per head.
In his assumption, this means the price range of chickens at the farmers’ level fell to Rp15,000.
"It's a loss because the chicken trader is the cheapest (selling) Rp19,000 (per chicken). So if he wants to make a profit, he sells it for Rp23,000-Rp24,000. Now at a selling price of Rp15,000, it’s a loss," he said.
The drop in chicken prices is expected as the supply is currently abundant. Zulkifli said the Trade Ministry would suppress imports of chicken seeds to maintain the supply balance. In addition, he said chicken eggs are also in oversupply. As a result, many are killed when they hatch as the government is worried that egg prices will be even lower.
"We don’t really like it if the chicken is too cheap. We have to raise it again," said Zulkifli.
RIANI SANUSI PUTRI
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