Fish, meat prices to go up in June

MANILA, Philippines – The prices of fish, meat and chicken are expected to go up further by June as local feed millers prepare to increase prices due to the soaring cost of feed inputs such as soybeans, coconut oil, wheat bran and rice bran.

“Feed prices are on their way up. By how much, I do not want to speculate. It will depend on individual feed millers on how much they will adjust their prices, if they can continue to absorb the increase in their raw materials or how they can moderate their prices,” Philippine Association of Feed Millers, Inc. (PAFMII) president Norman Ramos said.

He warned the upward adjustment in feed prices will raise the cost of basic food such as fish, meat and poultry.

Local feed millers had been complaining that the cost of their feed inputs continues to rise – even the cost of rice bran or darak is also rising because of the increase in palay prices.

The supply situation for rice bran, feed millers revealed, would tighten in the lean rice production months of June, July and August.

Rice bran is a source of protein and fiber for feeds. At present it costs only P9.30 per kilo.

Some feed millers fear that rice bran prices could again hit the historical high of P13.30 a kilo, which would increase the cost of production of animal feeds.

Ramos, however, clarified that rice bran only constitutes about four percent of the cost of feeds, but he sees the price moving up about a peso to P10.30 or P10.50 a kilo.

He admitted that the cost of other major ingredients such as corn, soybean, wheat bran and coconut oil have increased by anywhere from 20 percent to as high as 38 percent.

He also said that the continued increase in crude oil price and movements in the foreign exchange rate have to be factored into the cost of production.

“It is not just rice bran prices which are going up. It is all feed inputs, that is the trend,” Ramos said.

Earlier this year, Ramos warned that the local feed milling industry faces difficult times with the cost of production increasing 30 percent.

PAFMII, he said, is not even certain if the feed milling industry would be able to post a growth this year due to the rising cost of production.