Soaring mercury eats into hatchery profits

Poultry breeders in Andhra Pradesh are facing an increased bird mortality rate caused due to soaring mercury levels, which went up to 42 degrees Celsius in May. Most poultry farms had to use water sprinklers and fans to keep temperatures low; in the process, they incurred high costs of running generators.

The farm gate price of chicken is currently Rs 68 a kg, which is considered high. But the increase in expenditure in maintaining poultry, coupled with higher bird mortality, is eating into profits, according to members of the Poultry Breeders Association (Andhra Pradesh).

It is normal for hatcheries to a have a bird mortality rate of 0.2 per cent per week. The broiler parents are the worst hit and the mortality rate due to the heat is as high as 1.5-2 per cent. As a result, production has dropped by some 15 per cent. Broiler parents weigh 3-4.5 kg, making it difficult for them to cope with the heat.

Commercial broilers, which weigh around 2 kg, deal with heat more effectively. “We spray water on the big birds, using sprinklers for almost 12 hours. Water is also provided along with feed,” said G Ranjith Reddy, managing director of SR Hatcheries Private Limited, one of the big hatcheries in the state, with about 200,000 birds.

According to Reddy, hatcheries have been incurring a loss of about Rs 5 per bird per month on broiler parents and 75 paise on commercial layers, which weigh around 1.7 kg. Big hatcheries are racking up power bills in the region of Rs 8 lakh per month, in addition to Rs 3 lakh for diesel to run generators, which are needed in view of the frequent power cuts.

Despite the high farm gate price of chicken, the poultry industry is unhappy. “Feed costs have gone up tremendously compared to last year. We are now breaking even, but a further increase would push us into the red,” said one poultry farmer.

The price of maize, the major ingredient of poultry feed, is now around Rs 9,500 a tonne. Though the minimum support price (MSP) of maize is Rs 840 a quintal, breeders are required to pay a premium, since most of the maize crop is exported.

Poultry breeders, according to the association, would not mind an increase in the MSP to support farmers, if the entire produce was used in the domestic markets. Soya, which was priced at around Rs 18,000 per tonne last year, now costs around Rs 27,000 per tone — an increase of 50 per cent.

With new governments in place at both the Centre and the state, the poultry breeding industry is preparing to renew its demand that it be recognised as part of the agriculture sector and for an extension of the power subsidy to bring it at par with the agricultural sector. Public sector banks already extend term loans to poultry breeders under priority sector lending. However, hatchery feed plants come under the SME segment.