Indonesia Chicken Supplies Waning

Indonesia’s economic crisis has devastated its poultry industry and the nation is expected to run out of chicken this month, posing “extreme stability concerns,” the U.S. Agriculture Department said Friday.

Poultry supply virtually all animal protein for Indonesia’s population of more than 200 million, the USDA said in its monthly world livestock report.

Before the crisis began, Indonesia’s breeding industry was producing nearly 15 million day-old chicks per week, representing about 900,000 tons of broiler meat annually, the report said. But poultry producers have slashed operations to just 30% of capacity.

“It is estimated that the country will exhaust its supply of chicken in March 1998, a time which will follow the elections and the lifting of fuel subsidies--a scenario which poses extreme stability concerns,” USDA said.

Sporadic riots broke out in Indonesia last month because of a rapid rise in food prices.