October 11, 2020

Pandemic takes heavy toll on India's poultry sector

The lockdowns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected India's poultry industry, which has incurred losses of aroundUS$4 billion, Poultry Times reports.

The industry is today operating at 50% capacity, with production down by nearly 40%, although it is returning back to normalcy, as demand is rising, said Vasant Kumar Shette, president of the Poultry Farmers and Breeders Association.

"For the industry, the focus would be on recovery in 2020-21 and 2021-22", he stressed.

The report said that farmgate prices of eggs and chickens have risen 20-40%—Rs550 (US$7.46 per 100 eggs and Rs90 ($1.22) per bird—because of supply constraints.

In Mumbai, the Times of India reported that egg retail prices have gone up to Rs80 ($1.09) per dozen from Rs65 ($0.88) in August and Rs44-48 ($0.60-0.65) in April-May due to short supply and high demand.

While prices have improved, at least 30-40% of the small players have been forced to shut down their businesses for lack of cash to buy feed, which constitute 80% of production, said Suresh Chitturi, vice chair of the All India Poultry Breeders Association.

Aftab Ahmed Khan, chair of the Mumbai Egg Traders' Association, expect prices to remain high until December, noting that poultry product prices peak during winter and Christmas, when demand increases. "So, there could be a second spell of high prices in December and January", he said.