February 16, 2004

India's Poultry Sector Hit By Bird Flu

The poultry industry in India has suffered amid bird flu fears in Asia. An average of Rs 10 crore is lost per day, although the country did not report a single bird flu case.

Nearly one-third of this loss is being borne by the Andhra Pradesh poultry industry, which is known as the `egg basket of India', the office bearers of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) said. 

The outbreak of the disease elsewhere in the world has a cascading effect on the Indian poultry sector, thanks to the international news channels that brought home the news in detail.

" It is the educated who are watching the American and the British news channels are scared of eating chicken and eggs today. There is no effect of such news on the consumption of poultry products in the rural areas," said Mr K. Narayan Reddy, President of the AP Poultry Federation and Executive Committee Member of NECC.

Ever since the news broke out in the third week of January, the consumption of chicken and eggs plummeted in the urban areas of the country. Consequently, the prices of poultry products dropped much below the cost of production.

According to Mr K.G. Anand, General Manager of Venkateshwara Hatcheries Ltd, the current price of live chicken is Rs 22 per kg while the cost of production stood at Rs 30 per kg. Similarly, the price of an egg declined to 84 paise as against its cost of production of Rs 1.15. The consumption of poultry products declined by 50 per cent in Mumbai and by about 20 per cent in Hyderabad.

In the light of this situation, NECC is holding " Chicken and Egg Melas" across the country "to drive home the point that our birds are free from avian influenza and it is safe to consume our poultry products". As a part of this endeavour, NECC is roping in politicians, film personalities, doctors and other celebrities apart from hosting a variety of chicken and egg dishes for the consumption of the public.

One such mela was held in Hyderabad on Sunday where a variety of chicken and egg dishes including chicken pakoda, chicken biryani, egg bonda and egg pudding was offered. As per the offer, any person can consume unlimited quantity of the 13 varieties of dishes on display by paying just Rs 50. "We have made arrangements for 7,000 people and had already sold 6,000 tickets," Mr Anand said just before the start of the mela here.

But is there any increase in sales after such melas? " Of course, the sales have improved but the price continued to be low," he replied.