Indonesia Poultry Stocks May Keep Soaring on Supply Woes, CIMB Says

Indonesias chicken shortage could worsen this year, driving further gains in poultry stocks, according to CGS-CIMB Sekuritas.

CP Indonesia is expected to report a record profit for 2018, with its widest net profit margin in five years, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The price of a day-old-chick, known as DOC, rose 42 percent year-on-year in January, after poultry prices reached all-time high last year, according to Gabriela.

“The higher DOC price reflects its more acute shortage, which we expect to normalize in 3Q19F,” wrote Gabriela, who maintains an overweight recommendation on the industry. “We expect the sectors up-cycle momentum to last up to 2Q19.”

Still, higher corn prices and the government intervention pose risks for the industry. President Joko Widodo has been putting more effort in controlling inflation and prices of basic necessities ahead of presidential and general elections in April.

While the government can ask producers to cut prices, especially if the cost of chicken rises too steeply ahead of the Ramadan festive season in the middle of this year, CIMB says not much can be done to fix the industrys shortage.

“The government can only ask the big poultry players to sell DOC at a discounted price to independent farmers,” Gabriela wrote. “Overall, we believe there is not much the government can do to correct the current environment of supply shortage.”