Chicken shortages feared for Christmas season

Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II has said that if the Department of Agriculture (DA) does not address the poultry shortage now, this may well be the case. This follows consultations with the departments of agriculture and trade and industry, food growers, manufacturers, and distributors.

According to Roxas, a consensus was reached that there could be a shortage of up to three million heads of chicken for the third quarter this year.

The story unravelled with excessive chicken imports in December 2006, explained Roxas, chair of the Senate committee on trade and commerce, adding that the excess spilled over to the first few months of this year. This, together with a low emand for chicken, resulted in the decision being made that the poultry industry would not load their chicken grow-out capacity, thereby resulting in the shrtage in recent months.