Live Chicken Prices Plummet, Permindo: Could Hammer Small-Scale Farmers' Businesses
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The sustainability of small-scale chicken farmers’ businesses is under threat as the price of live birds has plummeted below production costs in various regions.
This situation is considered to have serious implications if not addressed promptly through government policies.
Chairman of the Indonesian Independent Small-Scale Farmers’ Association (Permindo), Kusnan, stated that many farmers are currently under heavy pressure due to selling prices that do not cover production costs.
“In many regions, the price of live chickens is already below production costs, so if this condition persists, it is feared it will hammer the sustainability of small-scale farmers’ businesses,” Kusnan told Kompas.com on Sunday (5/3/2026).
However, field prices are even lower than those figures.
In the Jabodetabek area, the price of small-sized chickens at the farm level is currently around Rp 23,000–Rp 24,000 per kilogram, while jumbo-sized chickens are around Rp 19,000 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, in Central Java, the price of large-sized chickens is even lower, at around Rp 18,500 per kilogram.
Kusnan emphasised that this condition makes small-scale farmers the most affected party and in need of government protection.
“Protecting small-scale farmers is very important, because when live bird prices fall below production costs, small-scale farmers become the most impacted party,” he said.
To restore chicken prices, Permindo is urging the government to take several strategic steps, from upstream to downstream.
One of them is controlling the production of day-old chicks (DOC FS) to prevent excess supply in the market.
“Upstream production control (DOC FS) needs to be carried out so that the chicken supply is not excessive,” Kusnan explained.
In addition, he also stressed the importance of increasing absorption of chickens through various government programmes, such as the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) and animal protein-based food assistance.
“Optimising the absorption of chickens by government programmes, including MBG and animal protein-based food assistance, is an important step,” he continued.
On the other hand, strengthening the processing industry and storage facilities such as cold storage is also considered crucial to absorb excess supply without directly pressuring prices at the farmer level.
“Strengthening the processing industry and cold storage so that excess production can be absorbed and does not directly pressure live bird prices,” Kusnan added.
He also called for policies that facilitate integrated companies in exporting chicken carcasses to various countries to expand the market.
“The government is also expected to create policies to help integrated companies easily export carcasses to various countries,” he asserted.