Poultry farmers feel henpecked in crisis

Poultry farmers feel henpecked in crisis

By Asep Fathulrachman

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Poultry farmers are selling their chickens
and closing down in droves as soaring prices of feedmeal make
business no longer viable.

Knock-on effects are already being felt. The supply of chicken
meat and eggs to the market is threatened, experienced by
consumers in Yogyakarta and several other cities.

The price of eggs has increased from Rp 2,500 per kilogram to
Rp 4,500, and chicken meat from Rp 3,500 per kilogram to Rp
10,000.

"When chicken meat in traditional markets is sold for Rp 3,500
a kilogram, we have to subsidize this at Rp 65 per chicken per
day... So it is better to sell the chickens as soon as possible
while the price is good," said Sunedi, a poultry farmer on Jl.
Parangtritis, Yogyakarta.

He said the price of factory-produced feedmeal had increased
three times since the turmoil began in July last year. The price
of the protein concentrate used in the mixing went up from Rp
1,100 a kilogram eight months ago to Rp 2,900 last month.

In the same period, he said, other manufactured feedmeal like
BR I and BR IV -- feedmeal for chicks and adult chickens -- also
increased by 150 percent. BR I, formerly Rp 950 a kilogram, is
now Rp 2,400.

"Even at the old price, our profit amounted to no more than 10
percent of the selling price of chicken eggs or chicken meat in
the market," said Mohammad Zakim, a poultry farmer living in
Godean, Sleman, Yogyakarta.

"With these high current prices, where is our profit in the
slack market?"

Loans

The dean of the School of Animal Husbandry of Gadjah Mada
University, Krishna Agung Santosa, said farmers needed help from
the government through optimization of the allocation of the
available credits for small enterprises (KUK).

He said it should be done immediately because, under Law No.
6/1967 on basic regulations on animal husbandry and animal
health, the government is obliged to ensure the public's
nutritional needs are met.

"If the farmers go bankrupt, it is feared the community will
become skeptical on the implementation of the law, and, besides,
it is to anticipate the scarcity of chicken meat and eggs in the
future," he said.

Based on the intent of the law and in order to preserve the
continuity of animal husbandry products, he said the government
should be willing to sacrifice by extending subsidies to the
sector in its state of collapse.

"However, if subsidies cannot be given due to lack of funds,
soft loans from the KUK ceiling would also do," he said.
"According to data on a number of village unit cooperatives on
the impact of the long drought last year, the KUK is still
available because rice farmers did not have the opportunity to
make use of it."

He believed soft loans were the most efficient step as
"greater funds and more time will be needed to revive them
(animal husbandry farmers) if they go bankrupt".

Sole distributor of Comfeed feedmeal in Yogyakarta, Ruyono
Sumowidagdo, claimed his sector was hardest hit by the dilemma.

"With the U.S. dollar at about Rp 9,000, it is hard indeed to
maintain the price of animal feed because the greater part of the
raw material and the manufacturing components are imported."

He said he had lost nearly all of his customers.

"Even if there are transactions, only small lots are sold.
They are not sufficient to cover the company's operational costs.
In the near future, we will also apparently close shop if the
dollar rate does not return to its former level."

Ruyono said depletion of present stocks of chickens,
freshwater fish and eggs would eventually result in scarcity of
these valuable sources of protein.

Imports would be out of the question due to the expense, he
added.

"Chicken meat from Thailand now costs US$1.20 a kilogram. With
the freight cost added on, the selling price here could be Rp
15,000 a kilogram. The price is unaffordable for the people."

He said there would be no alternative but to maintain local
animal husbandry.

It would be better for the government to focus on meeting
requirements for supporting facilities for animal husbandry,
especially the feedmeal sector, without a reliance on imports, he
added.

"But in the emergency situation now, it would not be too much
if the farmers were given a soft loan because it is not only big
businessmen who need credits. Only really efficient farmers can
maintain their business in the present situation.

"It is only fitting if the government comes to their rescue as
soon as possible."