Spikes in chicken prices temporary — Agri Dept.

Spikes in the retail prices of chicken in Metro Manila are temporary and will not persist over the Christmas season, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday. “The [price] increase is possibly due to an increase in demand since most companies have already released holiday bonuses," Agriculture Assistant Secretary Davinio Catbagan said in a statement. "The uptick in prices is good because our poultry growers can somehow recover their losses," he added. According to reports, chicken is now selling at P135 per kilo, when it should be no more than P120 per kilo. The farm-gate price of chicken this week is P82 per kilo from P74 a kilo last week and P58 two months ago, Catbagan noted. The price of chicken will stabilize in the next few weeks, he pointed out. “The industry is confident it will be able to meet local demand during the holiday season. All the grower houses are full for the December harvest," Catbagan said. The government, poultry raisers, and market vendors agreed in September to implement a standard reference price of P100 per kilogram for “unbranded" dressed chicken and P110 for “branded" chicken. “We have decided to amend the reference price for dressed chicken. Dressed chicken sold under certain labels such as Magnolia and Bounty Fresh will carry a higher price tag," Alcala said in an interview. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV