August 28, 2007

Nepal's poultry rises sharply due to bird flu bans

Nepal's ban on chicken imports from bird flu hit countries has resulted in skyrocketing prices for poultry products due to the resulting shortage.

Prices of chicken and eggs could rise to record highs, according to poultry businesses.

Fears of bird flu has caused the kingdom to impose bans on poultry products from Bangladesh, the US, Denmark and Germany, all of whom suffered from bird flu to some degree.

Poultry products are currently flown in from Australia but would be unsustainable even for the short term, said Til Chandra Bhattarai, managing director of Pancharatna Poultry Group.

Parent stocks of broiler chicken in the country currently stands at only 280,000, down from around 400,000 necessary to fulfil current demand.

The market is currently seeing a 12 percent deficit in supplies, according to the Nepal Poultry Entrepreneurs Forum.

The population of the egg laying chicken is also 20 percent below required levels. At least 40,000 chicks are needed, but only 32,000 are available now.

The country's importers are currently hoping to import chicks from Sri Lanka, instead of Australia, the current supplier.