May 29, 2008

High corn prices force Indian poultry farmers to use alternate feed grain

Indian poultry farmers in Tamil Nadu has turned to rice as a feed alternative as corn prices nearly doubled to about Rs850-900 per quintal from two years ago.

The entire corn crop produced in Tamil Nadu are purchased by the poultry industry, said Kumar, member of Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association (TNPFA).

Tamil Nadu's poultry industry requires about 800,000 tonnes of corn per year, but the state could only provide one-fifth of the demand, according to the Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell (DEMIC) of Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu poultry farms currently purchase much of their corn from the states of Karnataka, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh at high prices, forcing them to turn to rice.

The switch to rice, however, has worsened rice demand and prices have shot up since.