JENNY Soelistiani's chicken pens in Metro Regency, Lampung, sit empty. In past years, the eight rows of cages, built with bamboo floors and thatched roofs, would be crammed with 2,000 to 3,000 broiler chickens. Her Sumber Sari poultry farm has now closed down as a result of an unrelenting drop in prices.

The selling price of live chickens has plummeted to Rp14,000 per kilogram-Rp3,000 less than the break-even price of Rp17,000. The soaring cost o