Egg Farmers in West Java Struggle as Cooperative Membership Falls by Half

Egg farming in West Java is coming under increasing pressure. Of the roughly 100 members of the Sumedang Raya Livestock Producers Cooperative, spread across 10 regencies, only about half are still operating.

Ikhwan, the cooperative’s secretary, said many farmers had been forced to close their poultry sheds after suffering losses for months.

“Losses have been extensive. Farmers are now on the brink, and many have closed their sheds. We have around 100 cooperative members across 10 regencies in West Java. Today, perhaps only half of them remain,” Ikhwan said when met at the Agriculture Ministry’s office in Jakarta on Tuesday (27 October 2026).

Ikhwan said farmers had been making losses for the past seven months. The losses have been driven by egg prices falling below production costs, meaning sales revenue has not been enough to cover operating expenses.

He put the current production cost of eggs at around Rp24,000 per kilogram, while the price received by farmers in West Java is only about Rp20,000 per kilogram.

“That’s right. We have been losing around Rp4,000 per kilogram for nearly seven months,” he said.

According to Ikhwan, farmers’ problems are not limited to egg prices: the market is also oversupplied, and feed ingredients are expensive. This makes it increasingly difficult for small-scale farmers to compete with larger businesses that have their own facilities for producing feed, chicks and medicines.

He hopes the government will improve the management of the livestock industry, ensure maize supplies for animal feed, and restore balance between egg supply and demand so farmers can operate sustainably again.

“Hopefully this can be resolved, but the industry needs to be properly organised. First, there are the large companies; second, the availability of maize; and third, the downstream egg market,” he concluded.