Poultry prices are spiking in the Dominican Republic
Increased demand for corn and soybeans from China has led to a spike in prices for meat products in the Dominican Republic. The price of raw materials used by the Dominican poultry sector increased by 41%, which directly impacted its production costs by more than 70%. Although the sector hopes that everything will improve, the projections for the first months of 2021 are not positive.
“We, as an association, understand that the chicken should not grow more than it is. Production is even increasing, ”said Pavel Concepcion, president of the Dominican Poultry Association, quoted by the Avicultura Industrial magazine.
The executive director of the Dominican Poultry Association, Gregory Marte, said that the price of corn and soybeans increased 41.4% and 40.8%, respectively, in 2020 compared to 2019, which in his opinion reflects an increase never seen before. "Corn and soy represent 70% of the cost of producing chicken and eggs and 95% of pork," said Mars, indicating that the Dominican authorities must be attentive to the issue of raw materials from the poultry and pork sectors, seeking measures at least lead to price stabilization. Currently, the price for a farmed chicken is ranging between 36 pesos ($0.62) to ($0.65) per kilo. "China has made a very rapid recovery and has increased demand for these products very quickly and has no raw materials. The reality that exists in this environment is that the raw material increased 41% and this impacts 70% of the cost of producing chickens and eggs in the Dominican Republic,", added Mr Marte.
Usually, the sector produces around 18 million birds per month but due to the Covid-19 crisis, production has dropped to 16 million birds/month. Even so, if the cost of the raw material does not stabilize, prices will continue to rise, warned the association. In the region, countries such as Argentina have increased the taxes for corn and soybean exports in an attempt to keep the commodities available for the domestic meat industry.
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