Indonesia has started destroying eggs in order to stop the plummeting prices for live poultry, an official said Wednesday.
 "There's an oversupply of chickens and we're trying to reduce it," said Sugiyono, director for animal husbandry at the Agriculture Ministry. The eggs - which are fertilized and ready for hatching - will be destroyed by poultry farmers under the supervision of the Agriculture Ministry. The government expects to destroy a total of 10 million hatching eggs over the next several weeks.  The policy will be reviewed every two weeks, Sugiyono added.
Live bird prices have slumped to as low as 9,000 rupiah (less than 1 dollar) per kilogram from 19,000 rupiah earlier this year, according to the Indonesian Association of Poultry Traders. Hundreds of poultry farmers are planning to hold a protest outside the presidential palace in Jakarta on Thursday to demand the government take action, association chairman Singgih Januratmoko said.
 "We will give away 600 live chickens as a form of protest against the government for its inability to solve the problem," he said.
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