Poultry prices fall on social media rumour
Rumours on social media regarding the spread of coronavirus through birds have beaten down poultry prices, which have declined 10 per cent over the past two days, owing to a sudden plunge in demand for the product in the country.
Broiler chicken per kg is now being sold to consumers at ~65 in Pune and ~72 i n
Delhi, against ~73 and ~80 a kg , respectively, last week. Similarly, egg prices have declined and are trading at ~3.75 per piece.
Since the epidemic broke out in a few cities in China and a couple of cases were reported in India as well, there were rumours that birds were the vector. Normally mammals are the likely origin of this virus, which spreads to humans. Coronavirus is feared to have originated from bats in China.
“Poultry demand has fallen by 1015 per cent in the past two days. Rumours surrounding the spread of coronavirus through animals and chicken could be a reason. Prices of broiler chicken have declined by 10 per cent across all categories,” said Balram Yadav, managing director, Godrej Agrovet.
He added coronavirus was different from avian influenza (H5N1), for which t here was not even t he remotest possibility of the virus spreading to birds.
Meanwhile, egg prices are facing squeezed profit margins.
The benchmark broiler chicken continues to trade below the estimated cost of its production of ~80 a kg for a sustained period of more than a year now.
Many farmers in major producing states like Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar are protesting intermittently, seeking the government’s support on minimum support price and feed at a discounted price. But, there has been no favourable response yet.
While small farmers have stopped farming and are now seeking other means of livelihood, large companies with deep pockets continue to incur losses i n poultry farming.
“Poultry demand is very week due to a lean season. Normally, the six weeks between February 1 and March 15, demand for poultry products remains seasonally down due primarily to a slowdown in consumption during school examination period. Rumours of coronavirus worsened poultry demand. We hope poultry prices to decline further till demand resumes possibly by Marchend,” said K G Anand, general manager, Venkatashwara Hatcheries, the producer of Venky’s brand raw and ready-to-eat chicken products.
Meanwhile, feed prices have jumped significantly over the last one year. The prices of maize, bajra, and oilmeal have gone up by about 60 per cent since January last year.