Chicken supply shortage? Mandaue vendors feeling the effects

Several stalls selling chicken at the Mandaue City Public Market have closed in the past days due to the alleged shortage of chicken supply. CDN Digital photo | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—Several stalls selling chicken at the Mandaue City Public Market have closed because of the alleged scarce supply of chicken.

Market administrator Edgar Seno said at least five stalls have closed for about four days now because of the reported lack of supply of chicken.

Chicken vendors at the market said they  experienced the problem of the supply of chicken for a couple of days already.

Arlene Flores, one of the vendors in the market, said there were even times that they purchase chicken from a supermarket in Cebu City because their supplier cannot provide their orders.

Another vendor, Gloria Balanay, added that if they order about 100 whole dressed chicken, they will only get 50 pieces.

With this development, the price of chicken has increased. 

Before, Flores said that they can get a whole dressed chicken for P170 from their supplier, but now it increased to P185. 

This means they will also have to increase the price of chicken they sell in the market.

The prices range from P120 to P210 per kilo, depending on the part of the chicken.

Seno said because the market is sectioned, chicken vendors are only allowed to sell chicken or related goods.

So what could be causing the shortage of supply?

Flores said it started with the issue of Avian Influenza (AI), especially when Cebu implemented the ban of poultry and poultry-related products from places that have IA cases.

Cebu Province, Cebu City and Mandaue City  have implemented the ban.

Mandaue City Veterinarian Dr. Karen Merilles, said if the virus enters the region, it would really affect the economy and could post concerns about food security.

“Ato lang sa gyud ning tabangan anyway the ban is temporary, once ma settled na ta with the epidemic ani’ng AI mobalik ra man sad sa usual. So right now, we just have to sacrifice para dili ta mango sa among sakit,” said Merilles.

Merilles, said even with the presence of Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever in Luzon and Mindanao and other countries, Cebu still had enough supply of chicken and pork meat for local consumers. Merilles said the majority of Visayas is still free from these diseases.

Visayas is actually helping by providing products to other affected regions. Even with this, Merilles ensures that as of this time, Cebu still has enough supply of chicken. 

/bmjo

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