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Egg Price Still Low
Jakarta - Egg price has not recovered since Eid Ul-Fitr last year. It is predicted to continue until April 2011. There are three main factors causing the downfall: over supply, low public purchasing capacity, and massive import of powdered egg.
General Chairman of the Information Center for National Poultry Product Distribution, Hartono, said that currently eggs are released from farms at only Rp 9,800 to Rp 10,000 per kilogram. In some areas the prices is even as low as Rp 9,200 per kilogram, depending on the transportation cost.
“Egg price has been low since September 2009 and has not recovered until now,” said Hartono on Monday (10/5) in Bogor, West Java.
Hartono said ideally egg price at farm level should be between Rp 12,000 and Rp 13,000 per kilogram since the break even point is Rp 11,200 to Rp 11,700 per kilogram. “If the price is still low, it will be hard for farmers to survive,” he said.
It will be especially difficult for small farmers with only 500 to 20,000 layer chickens. Even a small shockwave will deal a heavy blow.
Hartono said there are three reasons why egg price had plummeted. First because over supply has suppressed the retail price of eggs in the market. At least 85 weeks or one egg production cycle is needed to stabilize it. Second, the purchasing capacity of consumers has dropped.
A similar statement was said by the Director of Veterinary Public Health from the Directorate General of Livestock Services at the Ministry of Agriculture, Turni Rusli Syamsuddin. “Egg is not the only animal product experiencing a fall in price. The price of chicken also went down from Rp 12,000 per kilogram to Rp 11,800 per kilogram for 1.5 to 1.8 kilogram chickens,” he said.
The third cause is because the fresh egg market is being overtaken by imported processed products, in the form of powdered egg. Powdered egg is widely used by the food industry and hotels.
It is more preferred because of its practical use and long shelf-life. Imported powdered egg is also cheaper.
General Chairman of the Indonesia Food and Beverage Industry Association (Gapmmi), Thomas Darmawan, in a separate occasion said that powdered egg has not effected domestic fresh egg production.
“Until now, domestic egg powder production is still very low. The Ministry of Industry has tried to encourage this industry a few years ago, but failed because the heating system was insufficient,” said Thomas.
Special Effort
Hartono said there needs to be special efforts from the government to help recover the egg price. In short term, the government must unify egg farmers so they will have a better bargaining position. For medium and long term, the government must encourage the establishment of the egg powder industry. The investment is only 3.5 million Euros but real support from the government is needed.
There are 200,000 people involved in the layer chicken operations. The egg industry is important because it can stimulate rural economy. Ingredients for layer chicken feed are mostly bought from harvests in villages; therefore the fall of egg price could directly affect the economic conditions of villages. (MAS/OSA)
Source : Kompas