8 lakh tonne maize to be released to poultry industry

The Central government will release 8 lakh tonne of maize to poultry farmers to help them recoup from the heavy losses suffered by them following the bird flu menace earlier this year.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday assured a delegation of poultry farmers lead by Anuradha J Desai, chairperson, National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC), that the government has decided to release the maize for exclusive use of poultry farmers, instead of releasing it in the open market.

A press communication from NECC said the minister has also indicated that the process of zoning and compartmentalisation will be completed soon, so that export of eggs can resume.

Usually, every year before the onset of monsoon in May and June, price of maize in the open market increases, and the government releases stocks from its godowns to ease the pressure. About 85-90 per cent of the maize produced in the country is consumed by the poultry industry.

This is the second time the Centre would release maize to the poultry farmers. Earlier, in April the government had released 5.3 lakh tonne of maize.

However, as there is no significant revival in the financial stability of the farmers, the NECC had requested a further release of maize. The minister has agreed to allocate 8 lakh tonne of maize at a price of Rs 450-500 per quintal "� which is considerably lower than the current market price of Rs 700.

In addition to maize, the government will also allocate 60,000 tonne of jowar and about 7,000 tonne of bajra to poultry farmers, the communication said.

It has also been decided that the commodities will be handled by the directors of animal husbandry in each state, based on the data of requirement and other technical support to be provided by NECC.

The communication said the price of maize has gone up to an all-time high of Rs 700 as against the normal price of Rs 520 to Rs 600 per quintal. As a result, the break-even level for production of eggs and chicken has increased by 25-30 per cent.

At the same time, the farm gate price of eggs and chicken have not increased correspondingly and poultry farmers who have already suffered heavy losses are incurring more losses due to the increase in input costs.