With beef prices still soaring, chicken prices are now following suit
With beef prices still soaring, chicken prices are now following suit.
Having had a shortage problem of its own even before the beef issue arose, chicken is now selling for up to Rp 60,000 (US$4.40) per kilogram in regions like West Sulawesi.
'Chicken meat is related to beef; when the price of beef rises, people switch to chicken,' said Vice President Jusuf Kalla as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday.
Separately, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman told tempo.co on Thursday that the shortage of chicken on the market was due to the closing down of hatcheries during the Idul Fitri holiday leading to less production.
The price of chicken has increased in the last few days, prompting chicken sellers to go on strike as the high price had increased their operational costs and chased customers away.
Another issue is a letter from the West Java Traditional Traders Union (Pesat) that was sent to chicken sellers, ordering them to stop trading starting from Thursday or risk being fined Rp 20 million.
Tempo.co reported that chicken sellers in Bogor, West Java, were worried by the letter and later stopped trading. Dadang Hermawan, one of the sellers, said that even if they had stayed open for business, there would have been no supply from the hatcheries.
Prior to the hike, a kilogram of chicken was sold for less than Rp 30,000. (rad/kes)(++++)
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