August 28, 2012

India's National Egg Coordination Committee appeals halt on poultry feed speculation

The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) in India has appealed to the government on initiating measures to stop speculation and stockpiling of soy and corn, and provide relief to farmers, as a result of the extreme rise in the prices of these two commodities.

The Committee has pointed out in a press release that during the past two months, there has been a steep increase in the price of soymeal, mainly due to forward trading, speculation and stockpiling by traders, exporters and certain multi-national companies, in anticipation of a substantial increase in the volume of export.

In the past three months, the price of soymeal has more than doubled. As a result of spiralling input costs, the cost of production for an egg has increased by 25%. Similarly, the production cost for broiler meat has risen by more than a third.

But the absence of a corresponding increase in farm-gate prices has led to poultry farmers incurring huge losses and unless the situation is remedied, half of the poultry industry would be wiped out, NECC said.

Simultaneously, the apex body also appealed to the Government for allocation of at least one million tonnes of wheat from the Food Corporation of India to minimise the pressure on the price of corn in the domestic market.