Oversupply of day-old chicks temporary
Oversupply of day-old chicks temporary
JAKARTA (JP): Director General of Animal Husbandry Soehadji says the oversupply of day-old chicks (DOCs), which recently caused chicken breeders to slash DOC prices, is part of a seasonal cycle and demand will improve.
Soehadji said there has been a seasonal mismatch of supply and demand for poultry products, with demand and prices at their lowest levels shortly after the end of school holidays and before the Christmas, New Year's and Idul Fitri holidays.
He denied reports that the oversupply had been caused by imports of DOCs or "miscalculations" on the part of chicken breeders.
"We don't allow imports which may threaten the domestic market. We keep a close eye on that," Soehadji said.
He said there is a regular intrusion of rejected DOCs during this period, further contributing to the oversupply of DOCs on the market.
The Association of Indonesian Poultry Entrepreneurs last month lowered the price of DOCs by about 30 percent from Rp 700 (30.5 U.S. cents) to between Rp 490 and Rp 525.
The association said that supply reached 10 percent above the total DOC demand of between 10 million and 11 million per week.
Breeders were hit further by an increase in production costs, which had risen as high as Rp 650 to Rp 700 per DOC, Soehadji said.
He said that over the past three months production costs had been constantly on the rise, while the demand for poultry on the domestic market had remained low.
He said that the price of poultry feed, which accounted for up to 70 percent of breeding costs, was continuing to soar on the international market.
"The poultry business needs modern management. It is a high- input and high-output business, with risks concerning technical aspects such as poultry feed, eggs and diseases; and economic aspects," he said.
Therefore, an assessment of the business can only be based on a long-term period and not on a single cycle, he added.
Project
Soehadji signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding with the Australian government on the start of the second phase of the "Eastern Islands Veterinary Services Project".
The project's first phase was conducted between July 1, 1989, and June 30, 1994. It was then extended up to last September. The project's second phase will end in 1998.
Yesterday's memorandum was signed by Soehadji and Murray A. Cobban, the deputy head of mission of the Australian embassy.
Soehadji said Australia will provide technical assistance to improve animal production and management, human resources training and development and "women in development" programs in East and West Nusa Tenggara and East Timor.
The project is also expected to control the Brucellosis disease, which frequently infects cattle in the region.
Australia's technical assistance will total A$6.12 million (US$4.53 million), while Indonesia will provide personnel, equipment and office space at a budget of Rp 2.95 billion (US$1.29 million).
Indonesia's livestock production during the 1989-1993 period increased by 40 percent to 1.37 million tons.
The contribution to the total of poultry, particularly broiler meat, increased from 43.5 percent to 52.5 percent.
Over the same period, beef production as a proportion of the total decreased from 26 percent to 24.4 percent, buffalo meat from 4.93 percent to 3.65 percent, pork from 13.03 percent to 11 percent and horse meat from 1.43 percent to 0.93 percent.
Egg production increased by 30 percent during the same period to 593,000 tons and milk production by 21 percent to 412,000 tons. (pwn)