BRIEFS. Agriculture

Pork and Chicken Costs on the Rise

You almost never see homegrown pigs and chickens from the producers in Darién these days. With the rise in the price of maize, the principal ingredient of the animals’s diet, farmers can’t afford to raise them, even though demand is high.

Since the number of families raising pigs and chickens has diminished, the supply is scarce, and anyone who wants to enjoy them at table should be prepared to pay a premium.

According to one worker who preferred to remain anonymous, producers are mixing maize with crumbs of rice and other food products in order to lower their costs. But a significant rise in the price of rice and fuel has become a factor in this equation as well.

In previous years, the price of a pound of pork was $1.25 or under, but today it costs $1.80, almost equal to the cost of beef. The price of a pound of chicken meanwhile has risen to $1.50.