April 24, 2006

 

India considers slew of measures to aid poultry industry
 

 

The Indian government is planning to provide half a million tonnes of subsidised corn to poultry farmers, a delegation of poultry producers and farmers from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu confirmed after meeting Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday (Apr 20).

 

If approved, the subsidised corn would alleviate problems faced by farmers in the bird flu crisis. Authorities have not specified when the subsidised corn would be available, according to a spokesman from the All-India Poultry Products Exporters Association (APPEA).

 

At the delegation's request, the government is also considering releasing government stocks of rice and wheat that were deemed unfit for human consumption to be used in poultry feed.

 

Efforts are also underway to enable Tamil Nadu to be declared free from bird flu so as to enable poultry exporters to resume normal trading.

 

The agricultural minister also expressed his support for a 'zoning' programme to facilitate movement of poultry products nationally and internationally from earmarked zones. The zoning programme would allow one zone to continue with business if there is an epidemic in other zones.

 

Duties on amino acids and vitamins might also be reviewed to aid poultry feed manufacturers. Vitamins and amino acids contribute 60 percent of the total feed cost.

 

Over 3,000 chicken farms in Tamil Nadu now on a slow recovery with prices inching their way up. Hatcheries, after a week's closure have also resumed operations, an industry spokesperson said.

 

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India, relaxed a ban on transportation of poultry products except in one district, officials said.

 

The ban would continue in Burhanpur district close to the Maharashtra and Gujarat borders where previous cases of bird flu occurred.

 

The government relaxed the ban as only one out of 3,600 samples taken tested positive for bird flu, indicating that bird flu is not spreading in the state, an official said.

 

The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), which claims the poultry industry suffered massive losses due to bird flu, has been appealing for a lifting of the ban.

 

The poultry industry is facing a grim and uncertain future as most farmers are on the brink of bankruptcy. In southern India, poultry farmers, unable to maintain sales, are giving away their chickens to the poor, NECC vice-chairman Vishwanath Dubey said.