February 23, 2006

 

Indian poultry industry struggles to restore customer confidence

 

 

As news of bird flu spread in India and poultry sales plummeted all across the country, industry players are scrambling to restore the public's faith in the industry and the safety of its chicken and eggs.

 

Hopes for recovery remain high in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India despite the havoc that bird flu has wrecked on the prices of eggs and live chicken.

 

Consumer confidence in Andhra Pradesh has been thoroughly shaken by bird flu and there is a need to restore customer confidence, said K G Anand, general manager of Venkateshwara Hatcheries. Activities will be organised to promote the eating of chickens and eggs, he added.

 

Bans by Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh did not matter significantly as exports only make up less than 2 percent of the poultry business in India, Anand said.

 

Worried poultry exporters may beg to differ. Countries from around the world have started to cancel orders, and even though the Indian outbreak is less than a week old, exporters are already starting to feel the pain.

 

Poultry exporters have urged the Indian government to provide reassurances to the international community through certifications of poultry and eggs from bird flu free zones.

 

More than 200 containers of poultry are in transit and millions of dollars now hang in the balance, P Valson, secretary of All India Poultry Products Exporters' Association said.

 

The effects of the bird flu outbreak are being felt all over India.

 

In Mumbai's biggest chicken market, poultry prices have fallen by as much as 75 percent. 

 

Meanwhile, sales of chicken and eggs have dropped as much as 95 percent in the Kashmir valley in northern India as people switched to mutton. State bans on imports had limited impact on the public as Kashmir gets nearly 70 percent of its poultry products from local farms.

 

India's western Maharashtra state says it will compensate poultry owners affected by the culling, and medical teams have begun certification of chickens imported to the capital New Delhi.

 

In the area of Navapur in the state of Maharashtra where India recorded its first case of bird flu, authorities have expanded the culling zone from an area within a 3 km radius from the first case of bird flu to areas within a 10 km radius to include more than 300,000 birds. Animal Husbandry officials say the culling has brought the situation under control.

 

Under international guidelines, India can only be declared free of bird flu if there have been no new cases for three months. The country's poultry industry estimates that it could take at least six months to recover. Export losses have already hit US$45m and more could be incurred before the disease is fully eradicated.