The Philippines has a massive poultry industry that is dominated by broilers and the native Philippine chickens. Layer chicken farming is the third most popular poultry farming industry in the Philippines. Some of the biggest factors favoring the Filipino poultry industry are its massive population, fast rising incomes and a love for chicken.
By July 1, 2017, the chicken population in the Philippines stood at 181.05 million birds. In spite of the numerous challenges faced during the year such as the avian flu, the chicken population in the Philippines grew 3.73% compared to the previous year.
The fastest growth in chicken population was witnessed in the layer and the native chicken populations that grew by 9.8% and 5.35% respectively. The broiler chicken population dropped 1.24% in spite of being a very capital intensive industry.
Production
The chicken production volume was 861,870 metric tons between January and June 2017. During the first half of 2017, the chicken egg production also grew by 242,988 metric tons, a growth of 4.49% over the same period in the previous year.
Chicken Prices in the Philippines in 2017
Between January and June 2017, the farm-gate prices declined by 1.99%. Part of the hit was due to the avian flu outbreak which decimated market prices for the chickens. However, the prices have been recovering in the recent months.
Population of Chickens as of July 1, 2017
Broiler population: 64.03 million birds
Layer Population: 35.66 million birds
Native/Improved Population: 81.36 million birds
Native and improved native varieties accounted for 45% of the chicken population in the Philippines. Broilers accounted for 35% of the chicken population while the layer chickens accounted for 20% of the chicken population.
BROILER FARMING IN THE PHILIPPINES
The largest broiler population in the Philippines has been recorded in Central Luzon. It accounted for 26.53% of Philippine broiler population. This was followed by CALABARZON that accounted for 17.53% and Northern Mindanao that accounted for 13.47%. Together, these three regions accounted for 57.53% of the Philippine broiler production.
LAYER FARMING IN THE PHILIPPINES
When it comes to layer farming in the Philippines, CALABARZON accounts for the largest population of layer chickens in the country at 35.18% of the layer population. This is followed by Central Luzon at 23.63% and Northern Mindanao at 9.82%. Together, these three regions now account for 68.63% of the total layer chicken population in the Philippines.
NATIVE CHICKEN FARMING IN THE PHILIPPINES
Native chicken farming is more widely spread in the country. The largest proportion of native chicken population in the Philippines is in Northern Mindanao with 10.95% of the native chicken population in the Philippines. It is followed by Western Visayas at 9.22, the Davao Region at 9.14%, Negros Island Region at 8.68%, Central Visayas at 7.40%, Central Luzon at 7.20%, SOCCSKSARGEN at 6.36% and Bicol Region at 6.24% among many others.