Poultry prices up by 30% in a month as demand rebounds post bird flu scare

Consumption dropped after cases of bird flu were reported in Delhi, Odisha

Poultry prices have jumped by up to 30 per cent over the past one month, following a sharp rebound in consumer demand.
 

According to poultrybazar.com, broiler chicken prices in Raipur rose the highest to trade at Rs 81 per kg. In Gujarat, broiler chicken was sold at Rs 72 per kg on Wednesday. Last month, prices stood at Rs 60 per kg in Gujarat.

A similar price surge was seen in Mumbai and Nashik, where broiler chicken was quoted at a price of Rs 67 per kg and 66 per kg respectively on September 6. Broiler chicken in Mumbai was available at a cost of Rs 59 per kg last month, while in Nashik it stood at Rs 60 per kg.

Similarly, egg prices have also risen sharply over the past one month. In Ajmer, eggs were sold at Rs 3.15 a unit on August 6. This shot up to Rs 3.55 a month later. In Delhi, eggs became costlier by Re 0.30 a unit to trade at Rs 3.95 on Wednesday. Similarly, prices surged in all major centres across the country due to a sharp rebound in its demand after India was declared bird-flu free in early July.

"Poultry prices have increased only in certain pockets and remain way below the desired level. The price increase should have been little higher than the current level. Certainly, demand has rebounded in the last one month due to a reasonably good monsoon. We are hoping that the current year would be good due to an increase in rural income from agricultural sources. We see a revival in consumer sentiment and profitability for poultry farmers this year," said K G Anand, General Manager, Venkateshwara Hatcheries, the producer of India's leading Venky's brand of chicken products.

Normally, the demand for poultry products increases during the winter season on account of increased consumption.

After hitting to a record level of Rs 100 per kg in July, broiler chicken prices declined to Rs 40 per kg later in the month. 

Consumers abstained from fresh purchases of poultry products due to sporadic instances of bird flu in Odisha, Delhi and other centres. Authorities subsequently culled birds to contain the spread of the epidemic, which in turn led crunched supplies due to a scarcity of birds.

Now, poultry farmers have started streamlining their production facility to ensure production levels return to normalcy. Industry experts feel restoration could take around 1 year's time.

"Even with the current price hike, broiler chicken prices have not reached the level of production cost. Prices should rise across the country to make poultry farming profitable," said Ramesh Khatri, President, Poultry Federation of India.

According to Khatri, the average price of broiler chicken prices should range between Rs 70 per kg to Rs 75 per kg. Since the average cost of production works out to be around Rs 65-70 per kg, any price below this level would incur losses for poultry farmers.