Hoy newspaper leads with the report that some poultry farmers are reducing production due to the rising cost of electricity, and are no longer able to secure bank loans. This claim comes from the northern region?s chicken farmers association, ASOPOLLON. By their calculation, the total losses of their members in June alone stand at RD$112 million, or RD$10.20 per unit of production and marketing. The peso devaluation is another factor in the difficulties experienced by the sector whose members are finding it difficult to survive. Although they understand the economy is in crisis, the elevated costs cannot be passed on to the consumer either, says ASOPOLLON president Juan L?pez. A US$20-million grant given to the association by the Agriculture Ministry, to buy essential raw materials from the United States, was converted to pesos and ended up being worth half its original amount as a result of the peso?s devaluation. L?pez explained that in order for the industry to be viable, the dollar-peso exchange rate would have to revert to RD$25.