POULTRY PRODUCTION is expected to increase in 2019 with new entrants pushing down prices for consumers but also putting grower earnings under pressure, an industry official said.
“In terms of outcome, the small and medium-scale players will be having a hard time especially during the first semester and maybe in the third quarter because there are a lot of new entrants who are really big. Some of them have foreign capital and the competition will be very fierce because they are looking for space in the market,” United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) President Elias Jose M. Inciong told BusinessWorld in a phone interview on Dec. 28.
“There will be more competition. What will happen there will be greater supply. Prices will go down unless there is a drastic change in the cost of inputs. The expectation is that profit will go down,” Mr. Inciong added.
Mr. Inciong also noted that “in terms of supply there will be definitely an increase. With the (current) broiler breeders, the potential increase is 19%.”
In the pork industry, the outlook for 2019 is also for increased supply, driven by more imports and zero exports.
“As an industry, we strive for positive growth by increasing productivity, improving animal health and lowering cost of production,” National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) chairman and president Chester Warren Y. Tan said in a mobile message.
“More legal imports, no exports for pork yet,” Mr. Tan added.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) meanwhile said that growth in the fruit industry is expected as international markets open up for Philippine exports particularly for banana, mango and pineapple.
“China buys so much banana and pineapple. We have mangoes. Those are the staple items in our exports,” PCCI chairman George T. Barcelon said in a phone interview.
“The market is open in many areas like Eastern Europe. Russia will also buy fruit from the Philippines,” Mr. Barcelon added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
