Ministry Of Agriculture Strives To Maintain Stability Of Supply And Chicken Prices At Breeders

Livestock (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) seeks to continue to maintain the stability of the supply and price of chickens at the farmer level through controlling production and proper distribution to support the welfare of farmers and market stability.

"One of the main problems of poultry is price fluctuations and this is the government's concern to stabilize by consolidating business actors and poultry associations," said Director General of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health at the Ministry of Agriculture Agung Suganda quoting Antara.

He said that various meeting forums had been held by the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health (Ditjen PKH) of the Ministry of Agriculture since early September 2024 by presenting the National Food Agency (Bapanas), the National Police Food Task Force, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, broiler cultivation companies and various poultry associations.

Agung stated that the synergy between poultry business actors and the government has succeeded in maintaining market stability while protecting the sustainability of the independent farming business.

"This policy is important to balance the market and ensure that farmers, especially those who are independent, remain protected from price fluctuations," said Agung.

Furthermore, Agung said that the Ministry of Agriculture has reaped results, where the price of live chickens is higher than the cost of production (HPP) so that farmers get a reasonable profit margin.

The Ministry of Agriculture is optimistic that with this positive trend, the stability of live chicken prices will continue to be maintained, which in turn can increase the contribution of the poultry sector to national food security.

"Intensive monitoring will continue to be carried out to ensure the compliance of all parties to this policy, including the enforcement of sanctions for those who violate it," said Agung.

Data from the National Chicken Breeders Organization (GOPAN) shows that since early October 2024, livebird prices for size 1.6-2.0 kg have increased gradually.

On October 1, the price of live chickens was in the range of Rp. 15,500-Rp. 16,000, then moved up to Rp. 20,500-Rp. 21,000 per kilogram on October 9.

GOPAN Secretary General Sugeng Wahyudi added that the current condition of the price of live chickens has reached the level above the HPP, which provides benefits for farmers.

"The price of live chickens has now reached Rp20,500 per kilogram. This is the result of joint efforts so that prices can go up immediately," said Sugeng.

Sugeng also emphasized the importance of continued field collaboration.

"Coordination in the field continues, and we regularly attend evaluation meetings initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture through PKH," Sugeng added.