POULTRYINDONESIA, Jakarta – The government is closely monitoring price pressures in the poultry sector, particularly for broiler chickens and eggs, which are currently trading below the Government Purchasing Reference Price (HAP). This situation is considered a threat to the sustainability of poultry farming businesses if not addressed promptly.

Deputy for Food Availability and Price Stabilization at the National Food Agency (Bapanas), I Gusti Ketut Astawa, revealed that the national average live broiler price at the producer level stood at Rp 22,783 per kilogram as of May 17. This figure is 8.87 percent below the HAP set at Rp 25,000 per kilogram. A similar condition occurred with chicken eggs, whose price reached Rp 24,356 per kilogram, or 8.09 percent below the HAP of Rp 26,500 per kilogram.

“Our farmer friends are already crying out. Prices are below the HAP, and we will push to restore price fairness,” Ketut stated.

On the other hand, consumer-level prices have shown a positive trend. Data from the Food Price Development Index (IPH) in the second week of May showed that broiler chicken meat prices declined in 232 regencies/cities, while chicken egg prices decreased in 246 regencies/cities. Both commodities also recorded deflation in April.

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, who led the Inflation Control Meeting in Jakarta on Sunday (May 18), appreciated the achievement.

“Broiler chicken meat prices are relatively under control. A total of 232 regions experienced price declines. This is quite good, meaning interventions by Bulog, the National Food Agency, and the Ministry of Agriculture have been working well,” he said.

However, the government continues to move quickly to prevent prices at the farmer level from falling further. Bapanas, together with the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health of the Ministry of Agriculture, is preparing price stabilization measures for eggs at the producer level. One of the initiatives involves cooperation with the National Nutrition Agency to absorb production directly from farmers.

As additional support, the government has also rolled out the Feed Corn Supply and Price Stabilization Program (SPHP), aimed at reducing production costs for poultry farmers. Through this program, feed corn is distributed at Rp 5,000 per kilogram at Bulog warehouses, significantly lower than the market price of around Rp 6,700 per kilogram.

“As of May 17, Bulog had distributed 5.97 thousand tons of feed corn, with East Java being the largest distribution area at 4.39 thousand tons. With the support of the SPHP corn program, we hope farmers can still enjoy reasonable profits,” Ketut added.

Get more information about Indonesia’s poultry industry by joining the Poultry Indonesia WhatsApp Channel.