March 7, 2008

India's poultry industry requests for financial aid and fair treatment
 

The Indian government has released Rs 60,000 crore of financial aid to agriculture farmers and the ailing domestic poultry industry is now demanding to receive a share of the aid.
 

At least marginal poultry farmers, who form more than 90 percent of India's poultry farmers count, should receive the loans, according to Anuradha Desai, chairperson of the National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC).

"There are no reasons why the government should not treat poultry farming at par with agriculture, especially when the government itself considers poultry as part of agriculture," said Desai.

According to Desai, the bird flu outbreak in 2006 has cost the industry Rs 11,000 crore, while wheat prices per 100 kilograms have also shot up from Rs 500-525 to Rs 900. The domestic poultry industry consumes over 70 percent of India's total wheat production.

The recent bird flu outbreak has also cost the industry a loss of nearly Rs 3,000 crore, Desai added.

The poultry industry has also witnessed a sharp rise in production costs over the next three years, and Desai believes that poultry farmers need government intervention to sustain the industry.

India's poultry industry is the only agricultural sector that has maintained a growth rate of 15-18 percent.

Rs 1 crore = Rs 10 million    Rs 1 = US$0.02 (March 7, 2008)