POULTRYINDONESIA, Jakarta – Poultry farmers across various regions are complaining about the decline in live chicken prices at the farm level, which are currently around IDR 18,500 per kilogram. This figure is far below the Government Reference Purchase Price (HAP) set at IDR 25,000/kg.

Asep Saepudin, Treasurer of the Indonesian Independent Smallholder Farmers Association (Permindo), revealed that this condition is causing farmers to incur losses. The cost of production (HPP) for live chickens has now reached around IDR 22,000/kg. With the lower selling price, farmers are estimated to be losing about IDR 4,000/kg.

“The price drop is happening because farm stocks have not been fully absorbed, leading to an oversupply of live chickens and falling prices. As of today, prices continue to decline daily, dropping by around IDR 500–1,000/kg per day,” he told the media on Saturday (April 4).

On the other hand, production costs are rising. Feed prices have increased by around IDR 200/kg from the normal range of IDR 8,200–8,500/kg. This increase is adding further pressure on farmers.

Asep added that prices had briefly returned to normal during Ramadan due to strong market demand. However, after Eid, absorption dropped sharply. This situation has been worsened by school holidays, which halted the distribution of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, resulting in a buildup of chicken stock—especially those weighing above 2.0 kg.

“The stockpile of chickens is one of the factors putting pressure on farmgate prices. This started in Central Java and East Java, where prices fell first, then spread to West Java and Banten,” he explained.

Amid these conditions, he hopes for government intervention so that farmgate chicken prices can return to normal. At the very least, prices should be above the cost of production to prevent farmers from continuously suffering losses.

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