At a meeting held yesterday with the Minister of Agriculture, poultry farmers suggested that the price of a pound of chicken should not be higher than RD$49 a pound. This does not tally with prices at retail sales points in the poorer barrios. In markets and supermarkets a pound of chicken sells for RD$50 and RD$50 a pound.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the price of fresh-killed poultry being sold at the popular kiosks in barrios ranges between RD$43 and RD$45 a pound, so the price suggested by the farmers, in the presence of administration officials and officials from consumer protection body Pro-Consumidor could lead to a price increase in the barrios. The poultry farmers admitted that they have been losing money for several months but they made a small adjustment recently and obtained a profit margin of RD$2.50 a pound. Nonetheless, the farmers had said a month ago that the profit margin was RD$10. Diario Libre reports that the cost of producing a chicken on the farm is RD$25.58 a pound, but they sell for RD$28.50 in the Cibao, RD$31 in Santo Domingo and RD$29.50 in the South, according to the farmers.<\/p>\n
Bolivar Cartagena, the president of the Poultry Commission, reported that in April they were losing RD$50 for each bird they produced and the loss was RD$10 of cost since they were selling at RD$15 on the farm. The poultry producers met with the authorities in order to respond to Pro-Consumidor’s complaint that the farmers had eliminated a large number of birds in order to influence market prices. Wilfredo Santos and Rita Gonzalez of Pro-Consumidor maintained the agency’s stance on the complaint during the meeting and they stressed their adherence to the law.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless the farmers told officials that the prices on the farm have been stable, and price variations are due to speculation. “There is a lot of speculation with the price of chicken that does not match the real price,” said Cabrera. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At a meeting held yesterday with the Minister of Agriculture, poultry farmers suggested that the price of a pound of chicken should not be higher than RD$49 a pound. This does not tally with prices at retail sales points in the poorer barrios. In markets and supermarkets a pound of chicken sells for RD$50 and … <\/p>\n