Merchants confirm chicken shortage and rising prices during holiday season

Santo Domingo.- Representatives of the Dominican commercial sector have confirmed a shortage of chicken in the national market during the holiday season, affecting both retailers and consumers, despite official assurances of sufficient supply. Business leaders reported that suppliers are delivering significantly lower quantities than requested, forcing merchants to ration sales and driving prices higher.

Speaking on the program Despierta con CDN, Jorge Jerez of the National Provisions Council, Lesseps Divani de León of the Santo Domingo Provisions Wholesalers Association (Amaprosado), and José Veras of the Dominican Federation of Merchants (Fenacerd) explained that partial deliveries have disrupted operations for supermarkets, small grocery stores, food stalls, and fried food businesses. As a result, consumers are paying more or turning to alternatives as availability tightens.

According to vendors, chicken prices currently range from about RD$79 per pound in supermarkets to as high as RD$93 per pound at wholesale markets, which could translate to final consumer prices of RD$110 to RD$120 per pound once additional costs are included. They cited the rapid sellout of nearly 80,000 pounds of chicken at a recent Inespre fair as further evidence of limited supply. Possible causes include the role of intermediaries, planning issues, discrepancies between official production data and market reality, and previous health outbreaks affecting poultry production.

Merchants also warned that fear of shortages is fueling speculative buying, further pushing up prices. In addition, they noted rising costs for other staple foods, such as plantains—now selling for RD$30 to RD$35 in markets and up to RD$45 in small shops—and cassava, priced between RD$35 and RD$40 per pound, reflecting broader pressure on food prices during the holiday season.