Increasing poultry consumption

If everything goes as planned, Filipinos will soon be enjoying low-priced, quality, locally sourced dressed chicken at P120 per kilo.

Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has already built five of the 12 poultry mega-plants that it intends to put up. Those that are operational already are in Pangasinan, Bataan, Quezon, Cebu and Davao.

Seven more will be built and according to news reports, they will be located in Badoc, Ilocos; San Ildefonso, Bulacan; Balayan, Batangas; Bulan, Sorsogon; Leganes, Iloilo; Phividec, Misamis Oriental; and Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur.

According to SMC chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang, each mega poultry facility will produce 80 million birds per year, totaling close to one billion birds annually. Each bird will weigh 2.5 kilos compared to the usual size of 1.5 kilos.

Aside from processed chicken products, produce coming from these poultry facilities can serve the demand for super-sized roast chicken.

Each plant will cost about P20 billion to build, for a total of P240 billion for all 12 mega poultry facilities.

Mr. Ang, or RSA as people often refer to him, earlier estimated that all these facilities, across the poultry value chain, will create one million jobs.

Last October 2023, no less than President Ferdinand Marcos led the inauguration of SMC’s mega poultry farm in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur, the first of the 12 mega farms to be built.

According to San Miguel Foods, the said poultry farm is set to revolutionize poultry production in the Philippines, ensuring a more stable and cost-competitive chicken supply. It said that this would complement SMC’s existing nationwide contract-growing program and provide additional livelihood and business opportunities for local farmers, adding that it is a significant stride toward bolstering the country’s food security.

RSA earlier emphasized that food security is one of the most important issues of our time, noting that poultry, being one of the most economical sources of protein, is vital to achieving this.

He explained that by investing in the latest technological advancements in poultry farming, as well as advanced husbandry technology and best practices in animal health and nutrition, SMC can efficiently grow and harvest chicken at a faster rate while prioritizing their well-being, benefiting not just Filipino consumers but also local farmers.

The Magnolia poultry farm in Davao is composed of 28 modules with five farmhouses each, a set-up that promotes animal comfort. Each farmhouse will have sufficient space vertically and horizontally to allow birds freedom of movement. The design also incorporates controlled climate technology, stringent biosecurity measures, an automated feeding and watering system, an air quality monitoring system and an automated harvesting system, SMFI revealed.

RSA also stressed that there is also a big opportunity for local corn and cassava farmers who can directly supply the raw materials that the poultry farms need. This will give the farmers a steady market for their goods at better selling prices compared to what they would get from middlemen.

SMFI likewise emphasized that they are taking care not to impact small growers by carefully selecting the areas where the farms will be built and producing mostly dressed chicken for value-added poultry products and institutional customers.

During our recent get-together with RSA, he said that compared to P350 per kilo for beef and P250 per kilo for pork, dressed chicken is selling retail at 150 per kilo, making it the cheapest protein source for Filipinos. He is planning to sell their produce at only P120 per kilo to make chicken more affordable to Filipinos, who have one of the lowest per capita consumption rates of chicken in Asia.

Eventually, RSA wants these mega poultry farms to be turned over to and managed by farmer cooperatives.

According to 2020 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, Malaysia leads the pack in terms of chicken meat consumption per capita, consuming 50.2 kilos per person annually, followed by Singapore with 36 kilos, Myanmar with 29.9 kilos and the Philippines with 15.9 kilos.

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook report notes that meat consumption has been shifting toward poultry in lower-income developing countries, reflecting the lower price of poultry compared to other meats. In high-income countries, this indicates an increased preference for white meats, which are more convenient to prepare and perceived as a healthier food choice.

The same report noted that there is a clear trend in the rise of poultry meat consumption in virtually all countries and regions and that consumers are attracted to poultry due to its lower prices, product consistency, adaptability and higher protein/lower fat content.

Worldwide, poultry, pig meat and sheep meat consumption is projected to grow by 15 percent, 11 percent and 10 percent respectively by 2032, with poultry meat expected to account for 41 percent of the protein consumed from all meat sources in 2032, followed by pig, bovine, and ovine meat.

The OECD-FAO also said in its 2023 report that the overall growth in the volume of meat consumption, aside from the US, Brazil and China, is expected to be greater in low-income countries, especially India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Vietnam and the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. Rising consumption in Asia, particularly in China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, has been driving the increase in poultry consumption in the last decade, and this trend is expected to continue, it added.

On a per capita basis, global meat consumption is set to rise by two percent. The report noted that the increase of 0.7 kg/year/person by 2032 is mainly due to the increase in poultry meat consumption, adding that globally, there is a growing trend among consumers to become increasingly sensitive to animal welfare, environmental and health concerns.

For comments, email at [email protected].