One of the most common questions that we get from many Filipinos in the Philippines and OFWs planning to venture into chicken farming either as a full time venture or as a part time venture is whether they are assured of market for their produce.
The market is the most important imperative when it comes to any business venture. Without a market where you can sell your products when you need to, your venture can simply grind to a standstill. Fortunately for many aspiring farmers in the Philippines, there is still a vast domestic market that can absorb their produce and assure them of a regular income. If you are a poultry farmer, there are two main types of chicken markets that you can leverage to market your produce depending on the venture that you are focusing on.
Poultry market for contract poultry farmers in the Philippines
One of the main attractions of contract poultry farming in the Philippines is that once the chickens have attained a marketable age, you are supposed to harvest them as scheduled ready for pick up by the contract farming company in the Philippines. Make sure that you have reminded the contract farming company representative of the exact date when you plan to harvest your chicken. You should also get assurance from the company representative that their trucks are going to come to your farm on time. This will save you money as it will ensure your bird do not consume extra feeds on the day when they are scheduled to be harvested.
With contract poultry farming in the Philippines, it is important that the birds are harvested as quickly as possible once an agreement has been reached with contract farming company.
Selling to middlemen
There are certain contract poultry farmers that also sell their harvested chickens to the viajeros. Middlemen generally pick up the biggest and healthiest birds leaving you with smaller birds that might not fetch much in the market. The process of a middleman going through your chickens and selecting only the biggest and healthiest is often discouraged as it adds distress to the birds and can even interfere with their feeding routine. This can lead to loss of weight and even mortalities in some cases.
Poultry Market for Independent Growers in the Philippines
If you are an independent chicken grower in the Philippines, it is advisable to carry out a market survey and determine whether there will be a ready market for your chickens and eggs. You can start with the simplest of steps. For example, talk to hotels, restaurants and various eateries in your local town or in Metro Manila.
Create a Brochure of your poultry products
You can even decide to be a professional about it. Create a brochure about your poultry products with pictures and descriptions on why your poultry products are the best. Leave a phone number on your brochure and you will be surprised at how quickly buyers will be calling you with inquiries on your poultry products. You can also talk to middlemen and see if you can get a good price for your poultry products.
Create a Facebook Page and Sell Chicken to Your City or Town
Tens of millions of Filipinos use Facebook and you can be sure they are searching for poultry products on Facebook, too. Create and brand your Facebook page to sell your chicken and eggs. Don’t forget to include your phone number and location information on your Facebook page or group.
Join associations and cooperatives
Are there associations or cooperatives of poultry farmers in your area? Join these and you will be surprised at how easily you can get market contacts from these associations. Organized producers in a cooperative or association also have a stronger bargaining power and this will allow you to get great prices for your chickens.
Sell live or dressed?
With time, you should be able to compute which gives you the best value; selling your chickens live or dressed. Buyers have different preferences so they will dictate the form in which you sell your chickens. When selling dressed chicken, factor in the dressing cost into the pricing.
Selling broilers
To get the best prices for broilers in the market in the Philippines, it is advisable to sell them at optimal weight. You will generally get more profits when you sell your broilers when they weigh anywhere from 1.3Kg to 1.5Kg live weight depending on the market preferences.