Officials of the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA 7) made the announcement in response to reports that livestock feed has become pricier this year due to several economic factors.
Dr. Zeam Voltair Amper, the DA 7’s livestock focal person, told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, that aside from Central Visayas, almost all areas in the country are also experiencing the rising cost of livestock feed.
Amper said that since Central Visayas has no steady production and supply of corn, manufacturers of livestock feed have to buy their bulk supplies of the crop from Luzon and Mindanao, which entails logistic costs.
Though corn is currently in low supply, soybeans—another ingredient for high-quality livestock feed—is quite in abundance, Amper added.
According to Amper, China regularly imports soybeans to the country due to the Philippines’ high demand for the crop.
Due to China’s continuing export of soybeans, the country is currently having an excess supplies of the crop, Amper added.
Aside from China, the country also sources its soybeans from the United States.
Corn and soybeans are essential ingredients in producing animal feeds that are high in quality and have more nutritional value.
To address the high demand for corn, the DA, which is currently led by Marcos, wants to intensify production in corn-producing areas as a way to augment their supplies.
In a separate interview, DA 7 Director Joel Elumba told SunStar Cebu that their Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) program could help in intensifying corn production in the region by aiding farmers association under the corn cluster to produce and earn more.
In 2020, the DA initiated the F2C2 as a way to cluster farm produce, livestock, and fish and grouping within a community on the basis of proximity and commonality.
In Central Visayas, Amper said it has 50 registered F2C2 clusters, mostly composed of farmers associations in Bohol and Negros Oriental.
Last month, poultry owners in Bantayan Island announced that they have increased the prices of their eggs due to the increase in prices of feeds.
According to Alan Pastoril of the Bantayan Island Layer and Hog Raiser Association Inc., the cost of 50 kilograms of feed stood at around P1,800 in January this year, adding that every bird consumes 110 grams per day.
Pastoril said their current cost-to-produce per egg then was about P6, referring to the capital that includes the cost of the feeds, electricity, water, salary for manpower, among others.
The association president said middlemen could now buy 30 medium-sized eggs or a tray at an average of P190 from the island’s 100 poultry owners.
In the past, middlemen could buy medium-sized eggs for an average of P185 per tray.
Pastoril, however, said the prices in the market depend on the prices middlemen offer to retailers.
He said the war between Ukraine and Russia caused the start of the increase in prices of oil products that resulted in the increase in prices of other products such as animal feeds.
Pastoril said their cost-to-produce per egg prior to the war was only around P5.20, adding that the 50 kilograms of feed cost only around P1,400.