Bird flu outbreak devastating small poultry farms<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi and Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Tangerang<\/p>\n
After millions of chickens have been killed due to bird flu and
\nother diseases over the past several months, poultry farmers are
\nnow anticipating greater losses caused by the decline in demand
\nfor Indonesian poultry products.<\/p>\n
Demands for chicken meat have dropped significantly following
\nreports that the bird flu now attacking Indonesia and many other
\ncountries in the region is the H5N1 variant, which can also kill
\nhumans.<\/p>\n
"In Jakarta alone, demand for chicken meat has dropped by up
\nto 40 percent," Eko Sandjojo, a director of poultry company PT
\nSierad Produce Tbk., Eko Sandjojo, told The Jakarta Post on
\nWednesday during a national seminar on the disease.<\/p>\n
The price for newly born, or day-old chicks, has also dropped
\nto Rp 500 (5.8 US cents) from Rp 1,500 prior to the outbreak of
\nthe disease.<\/p>\n
"So from every DOC, we lose Rp 1,000," he said.<\/p>\n
With national sales averaging 80 million DOC per month, the
\nindustry is now losing some Rp 80 billion each month from DOC
\nsales alone, according to Eko.<\/p>\n
"Sierad, with an output of 10 million DOC per month, is losing
\nsome Rp 8 billion a month," he said.<\/p>\n
Normally, the firm sells the DOCs to affiliated farmers and
\nbuys back the poultry after being raised by the farmers. Now,
\nbecause of the very low price, rather than selling the DOC, the
\nfirm asks affiliated farmers to raise the chickens for a fee and
\ntakes them back later to be processed.<\/p>\n
"If the price is still bad, we'll keep the meat in our cold
\nstorage," said Eko.<\/p>\n
Separately, director of animal health at the Ministry of
\nAgriculture Tri Satya Putri Naipospos H. said that today there
\nwere some 5.5 million broiler chickens on the market that
\nremained unsold.<\/p>\n
"Normally, a broiler chicken is ready for sale after reaching
\nthe age of five weeks. As demand is declining, farmers now have
\nno choice but to keep their chickens around and feed them for a
\nlonger period," she said.<\/p>\n
Eko said that small farmers would suffer the most from the
\ncurrent crisis, while giant companies would still survive for the
\nnext four or five months.<\/p>\n
"Once they fail, it will be difficult for small farmers to
\nrevive their businesses. We are worried that once consumer demand
\nis back to normal, only a few farmers will want to resume their
\nbusiness. This will result in a shortage of supply and we'll have
\nto import more chicken," he said.<\/p>\n
A chicken farmer from Blitar, East Java, Hidayaturrahman,
\nconfirmed that in order to cope with the decline in demand for
\nchicken meat, farmers were forced to keep their broiler chickens
\nlonger than usual. In order to cut costs, farmers provide the
\npoultry with low-quality feed to slow down their growth.<\/p>\n
According to Hidayaturrahman, in order to produce a kilogram
\nof broiler chicken, a farmer has an average of Rp 6,800 in costs,
\nincluding the costs for DOC and feed.<\/p>\n
"How can we survive with a broiler chicken now selling for Rp
\n3,000 per kilogram?" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture,
\nMemed Gunawan, told the Post on Thursday that as long as chicken
\nmeat was well-cooked, the public do not need to worry about
\ngetting bird flu.<\/p>\n
However, he admitted that public confidence in eating chicken
\nwas not easily restored given the deep psychological impact of
\nreports on the bird flu.<\/p>\n
"In order to help the poultry industry recover, the central
\ngovernment is now cooperating with regional governments in
\nfighting the disease and in holding public campaigns that eating
\nchicken meat is safe," he said.<\/p>\n
Dozens of poultry breeders in Tangerang regency have requested
\nthat the regency administration supply them with vaccines to
\nprevent bird flu from spreading to the currently healthy
\nchickens.<\/p>\n
"We need proper vaccines soon to fight against bird flu. The
\nadministration has not even given us proper instructions to
\nprevent more loses in our business as of now," Heri Santoso, a
\npoultry breeder in Legok district said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Heri said that 80 percent of chickens in the district had been
\nkilled by the scourge.<\/p>\n
Separately, regent Ismet Iskandar called on poultry breeders
\nnot to panic while dismissing allegations that 80 percent of the
\nchickens in the regency had been killed by bird flu.<\/p>\n
"I know that a lot of poultry has been killed but it is not
\nbecause of bird flu," he claimed, adding that the regency would
\ndistribute the "Legok Vaccine" brand to poultry breeders next
\nweek in a grand, public ceremony.<\/p>\n
"During the ceremony to distribute the vaccine, we will also
\nannounce that Tangerang is safe from bird flu," he declared.<\/p>",
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