Maintain The Balance Of Chicken Prices, This Is A Step Taken By The Food Agency

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA The National Food Agency continues to strive to maintain reasonable egg prices at the level of breeders, traders, and consumers.

This is because the price of eggs has recently soared.

Head of the National Food Agency (NFA) Arief Prasetyo Adi said the dynamics of the price of eggs must be seen from various sides, because it cannot be separated from efforts to maintain a reasonable balance and price at the farmer, trader and consumer levels.

Arief said that efforts to maintain a balance of egg prices must start from upstream because they systematically form prices at the downstream level.

"Currently at the upstream level or breeders there is a change in production costs, especially the food cost variables. To keep production costs at the farmer level from increasing, we prioritize that feed price stabilization steps be taken," he told reporters, Monday, May 22.

According to Arief, the poultry ecosystem is closely related to corn as one of the main components of animal feed.

In order to maintain supply stabilization and price of corn, NFA increases the facilitation of food distribution (FDP) for corn commodities from farmers or Gapoktan to farmers.

NFA continues to encourage the facilitation of corn distribution from NTB and South Sulawesi to egg producing areas in Central Java, East Java, and Lampung, currently reaching 1,100 tons and still in the process of distributing to Solo Raya 100 tons. With a smooth supply of corn, it will be able to reduce production costs," he said.

Efforts to stabilize feed prices, continued Arief, must be addressed through collaboration with stakeholders, including related ministries/agencies.

"Based on the Ongkos Usaha Tani (SOUTT) structure, feed costs contributed 67 percent of the cost of egg production, with 50 percent of feed being milling corn," he said.

Furthermore, Arief added, the food assistance for eggs and chicken meat to reduce stunting which is currently being disbursed by the government to 1.4 million Stunting Risk Families (KRS) is also one of the strategic steps to control the balance of egg prices from upstream to downstream.

"We continue to encourage food assistance to increase the intensity of distribution through the Food SOE ID FOOD, because in addition to helping reduce stunting, it also helps people reduce spending on purchasing eggs, besides keeping production at the farm level absorbed at a good price," he said.

This food aid for eggs and chicken meat is a kind of closed loop made from upstream involving independent breeders to be able to contribute to reducing stunting through meeting protein needs for the community, especially the Stunting Risk Family.

Arief said, through this assistance downstream, it was also emphasized so that inflation would not spike.

"Meanwhile, upstream we keep prices at farmers good, so that farmers can continue production and increase productivity," he said.

If the reasonable price in breeders is not maintained, it can have an impact on the decline in the number of breeders, there will be many small independent breeders who do not produce. This leads to a decline in national egg production. This is what we anticipate," continued Arief.

As for the condition of egg prices based on the Panel of Food Prices as of May 21, 2023, the national average is at IDR 31,276 per kg.

Meanwhile, for prices per Regency/City, the price of eggs was observed to be diverse and dynamic.

The price of eggs below the Purchase/Sales Reference Price (HAP) of Rp. 27,000 per kg is found in 66 regencies/cities or 14.44 percent, while the price of eggs slightly above HAP or in the range of Rp. 27,001 per kg to Rp. 29,999 per kg is located in 84 regencies/cities.

Meanwhile, the majority or most of the price of eggs is currently in the range of Rp. 30,000 per kg to Rp. 34,999 per kg.

"This price cannot be separated from the current input/pakan cost and the increase in distribution costs to non-producing areas," Arief concluded.