JAKARTA (May 17): Poultry company Japfa Comfeed Indonesia plans to export a total of 1,500 tonnes of live chickens to Singapore by the end of 2023, a director told Reuters on Wednesday (May 17).

This would mark Indonesia's first shipment of live chicken to neighbour Singapore.

Japfa has shipped 41.5 tonnes, or 23,000 heads of chicken, on the first delivery, after meeting stringent requirements from the Singapore government.

"This first shipment of live chickens abroad is an important milestone for the national poultry industry," Harwanto, a director at Japfa said.

Indonesia began exporting frozen poultry products to Singapore in the middle of last year after Malaysia, which supplies a third of Singapore's chicken, halted exports in early 2022 due to global feed shortages that disrupted local production and prices.

According to a statement from the trade ministry, Indonesia produced more than 3.8 million tonnes of chicken products in 2022 and often has a surplus after domestic consumption.