The fear of bird flu in Maharashtra has pushed prices of chicken and broilers to Rs 75 per kg from Rs 55 per kg in Goa. | |
| Prices of chicken rose sharply on Sunday after the state government imposed a ban on the import of live birds, broilers and eggs into the state from neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka. |
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| "It has become important to control the movement of poultry into Goa from outside. There is also need for mass vaccination to be carried out at all these farms as a preventive measure," said P G Bakhale, deputy directory, Animal Husbandry. |
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| Vendors said their business was not affected. They maintained that prices are expected to increase further in the coming days if chicken goes out of stock. |
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| According to officials, about seven vehicles carrying poultry products from Maharashtra were sent back from the Goa-Karnataka border check-post. Three other vehicles from Karnataka were denied entry into the state. |
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| "We have sealed all borders and are denying entry of all poultry products," a senior police official said. The borders will remain sealed for the next 10-days. |
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| Meanwhile, poultry business in the country is facing huge financial losses due to cancelling of orders by buyers in India and overseas. |
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| Anuradha Desai, head of Venkateshwara Hatcheries group, said the impact of the situation on the poultry industry would be severe as chicken sales have already dropped 40 to 60 per cent. She feared egg sales will soon be affected as well. |
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| "Consumers are not taking any chances and the poultry business is taking a hit. Our sales have decreased by over 30 per cent in the last two days," said a senior official at Suguna Poultry Farm. |
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| Poultry experts have expressed serious concerns over the arbitrary manner in which the government has been handling the outbreak of bird flu in Maharashtra. |
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| Poultry farm owners in Panvel and Khopoli, which supplies chicken to Mumbai, were confident about their stocks and ruled out the possibility of any outbreak in their respective farms. |
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| "Our doctors and staffs are visiting farms all over Maharashtra. No case of death or bird flu in our farms has been registered so far. The detected disease is not bird flu, rather it is Ranikhet and Marek's," said R M Veeraswamy, senior manager marketing, Saguna Poultry Farm. |
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| Owners of the commercial poultry farms in Panvel feel that they are well equipped to combat the disease. |
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| "We are equipped to tackle any such eventuality. Regular tests are being carried out," said P G Pedgaonkar, deputy general manager, Venkateshwar Hatchery, Panvel. |
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