Jollibee, McDo confirm chicken supply shortage in some stores

Fast-food giants Jollibee Group and McDonald’s Philippines have confirmed that some of their stores had been experiencing chicken supply challenges.

“Due to continued increase in consumer demand and limited chicken supply in the market that meets our high quality standards, a small number of stores of Jollibee and Mang Inasal are unable to serve some chicken orders,” the Jollibee Group said in a statement on Wednesday.

McDonalds’ Philippines Corporate Relations director Adi Hernandez said there were "only a number of stores that temporarily don't offer certain chicken products.”

Hernandez said this was “due to an increase in demand and unavailability of chicken supply that meet our standards and specifications, serving only our best to customers.”

However, she said that McDonald’s Philippines continued to serve chicken products in its stores.

The Jollibee Group said chicken supply was “already improving." 

"We are continuously working with suppliers to address the immediate demand," it said. “We are confident that these select branches will be able to fully serve their customers’ chicken orders soon.” 

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority as of March 31 showed the total chicken inventory was estimated at 187.66 million birds, 2.4% higher than the 183.27 million birds in the same period last year.

Inventory of broiler chicken and layer chicken grew by 10.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

On the other hand, native/improved chicken population declined by -2.3%.

Of the total chicken population, native/improved chicken accounted for 43%, followed by broiler chicken with 33.7% share and layer chicken with 23.3% share, according to PSA data. —NB, GMA News