December 21, 2009

India's broiler industry takes steps to self-reliance

New hatcheries will be built in Kashmir in order to close up the supply and demand gap.

A mega hatchery with state-of-the-art equipment will have the capacity to produce 4.5 million day-old chicks annually, reducing Kashmir's dependence on imports. The chicks are expected to reach their market weight in 25-30 days, making them highly competitive.

The enterprising promoters who are making the hatchery a reality, aim to meet half the current requirement of 14.5 million day-old chicks per year from 2010, said JL Mattoo, Director, Animal Husbandry.

Kashmir produces two million day-old chicks, while imports this year reached 12.5 million as of October 24.

Beside the mega hatchery, three other hatcheries in the pipeline will add another 3.9 million day-old chicks, raising local chick production to 10.4 million chicks, said Mattoo.

Day-old chicks are the main input of the broiler industry, costs of which increased sharply this year. Kashmir's poultry industry was dealt a serious blow when day-old chick prices doubled from Rs15 (US$0.32) to Rs30 (US$0.64).

The start of the new hatcheries is expected to alleviate the problem, and the number of broiler farms is projected to increase as the chicks become easily available at competitive prices.

Interestingly enough, India's recently announced employment policy has also identified poultry rearing as one of the key employment generating activities.