News After crash, pandemic now sends chicken prices soaring in Bengaluru
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When the medical fraternity dispelled rumours linking chicken to Covid-19 and amplified the benefits of consuming chicken and eggs, saying it would build immunity, the demand for chicken shot up, so much so that even
Narendra K Pasuparthy, CEO of Nandu's chicken, a leading retailer in the meat market, said, “About 90% of chickens are slaughtered in Bengaluru. In F e b r u a r y, M a rc h a n d A p r i l , t h e government was still figuring out how to contain the spread of the virus. They were trying to keep the entire city clean which is why they did not allow slaughtering of animals within the city.” He said the meat market has taken a beating of nearly Rs 25,000 crores across the nation.
Shor t supply, high demand push egg prices up in Bengal
Although it is the slack season, chicken prices in Bengaluru have hovered around Rs 200 per kg for the past months in Bengaluru and those tracking the poultry sector blame it on Covid-19. Manjesh Kumar Jadhav of the Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Broilers Association told TOI: “There are two factors at play: Reduced production capacity and increased demand.” Jadhav pointed out that the supply side took a beating in January and February following rumours and fake news linking Covid-19 to consumption of chicken. There were few takers for chicken across the state and prices dropped to less than Rs 40 per kg. Karnataka, which used to consume 10,000 birds per day, witnessed a 30% fall in production. The poultry sector suffered losses of about Rs 4,000 crore between January 15 and April 15 and as a result, more than 100 of the nearly 500 producers closed down, denting the production capacity.
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during the slack months (Shravana and Karthika lunar months), the price continues to be high when it should have actually fallen. Jadhav said: “While the farm gate price of chicken during slack periods is around Rs 60 per kg and the retail price around Rs 130-140, the trend has been different in the past three months. The farm gate price is around Rs 100 per kg and the retail price of chicken continues to be around Rs 220.” Yet, many broiler farmers are still struggling to come to terms with the initial impact of the pandemic. Manjunath V Thawde, a broiler farmer for 20 years in Hubballi, told TOI: “I lost Rs 25 lakh in just two months. Only I know how hard it was for me to arrange that money. I don't have enough money to even start again and banks are asking for collateral security which I don't have. I've never seen anything like this. We incur losses every year, but we normally get by. This situation is choking.”
After onion and potato, eggs, another kitchen staple, , became dearer in West Bengal due to a shortage in supply and rising demand, and consumer may not get respite soon from soaring prices of the poultry product with upcoming festive season traders said on Saturday. Retail price has shot up to Rs 7 apiece, while branded eggs are sold over Rs 10 per unit, they said. "Consumers, who had shunned poultry products due to the scare of coronavirus earlier, are now consuming eggs to meet their nutritional requirement in the fight against the virus. This has led to a rise in demand," traders in the city said. Retail egg prices had soared by nearly 60 per cent in the last six months from about Rs 4 apiece in April and May , and it has gone up by about 20 per cent in September mainly due to supply shortages , they said. "I am selling eggs at Rs 7 apiece now, while I had sold at Rs 4 per unit in April ," a grocery store owner said. Prices of branded eggs in large format stores have increased to over Rs 10 per piece, while brown and other speciality ones are sold at higher prices. "About 25 per cent of birds had been
Poultry Planner | Vol. 22 | No.08 | October - 2020
