January 15, 2010

India poultry prices to remain firm on winter season

Poultry prices are likely to remain firm in the next few months, as feed prices stay stable and the demand is boosted by winter months in India.

Although prices usually increase in December-January, the rise is steeper than expected this time because of growing demand for non-vegetarian food.

According to Poultry Federation of India (PFI), the wholesale price of broiler undressed chicken has gone up to Rs72 (US$1.58) per kg from Rs65 (US$1.42) per kg in October 2009.

Wholesale egg price in Delhi also increased to Rs2.83 (US$0.06) per piece from Rs2.3 (US$0.05) in October 2009. This indicates that egg prices have shot up to Rs44 (US$0.96) per dozen from Rs34 (US$0.74) three months ago.

Poultry prices have reached its peak and are unlikely to decrease before the end of January, said M Batliwala, general manager of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC).

Meanwhile, feedmeal prices have stabilised after the arrival of new soymeal, a key ingredient of poultry feed. On Wednesday (Jan 13), soymeal was quoted at around Rs18,500 (US$405.1) per tonne, down nearly Rs3,000 (US$65.7) from October.

Prices have increased because of rising consumer demand, said PFI spokesman Ricky Thapar. Consumers have also shifted to poultry products because mutton prices are nearly at par, he added.

India's poultry industry has a huge growth potential as the country's per capita consumption is only 2.4kg per annum. However, per capita consumption of broiler meat has grown at 10% for the past 15 years.