The consumers are very happy. Prices for poultry have been falling for the past month, and more price cuts are expected today. In the poultry farms, the broiler chickens produced for the local market are now older than is considered to be economically feasible. They have reached between five and seven pounds. According to the El Caribe, live birds are selling at between RD$8 and RD$10 pesos per pound. Apparently, the large profits that were earned from last May to December, stimulated poultry producers to invest in larger flocks and exceed the market’s capacity to absorb the product. This was the opinion of Enriquillo Rivas, a spokesperson for Pollos Cibao, one of the larger suppliers in the country. Sources such as the National Council of Fram Production (CONAPROPE), are reporting that there are nearly one million more birds that the market can bear at this time. CONAPROPE spokesperson, Radhames Silverio, sold reporters that estimated demand for February and March was 11.5 million birds. In February alone, 12 million birds were produced. Climatic conditions have been favorable to the overproduction as well, with the cooler temperatures experienced in January and February reducing the normal mortality rates for the flocks. An early beginning to Lent, with its meat-fasting habits, has also contributed to a lessening demand. What is a boon for the consumers is a bust for the producers, since when the price is less than RD$13 a pound they say that they are losing money, since this is the per-pound investment needed to put a pound of meat on a bird.