Sharp decline in chicken price in the wake of avian flu and COVID-19 has heavily affected the domestic poultry market in the State.
At a time when the break even price for producing a kg of chicken is ₹77.85 in the State, the average selling price now is only ₹20. Market price in Thrissur is currently around ₹18.
“One load of chicken, weighing around 4,500 kg, was sold at ₹8 a kg from a farm in the State two days ago. Big farms are incurring a loss ₹30-60 lakh a day. If this situation continues, the poultry industry in the State will be closed,” said Binny Emmatty, State president, Poultry Farmers and Traders Samithi. According to unofficial statistics, Kerala used to consume around one-crore kg of chicken a week.
“But the consumption of poultry meat and eggs has come down substantially now. Outbreak of COVID-19 and bird flu in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts has further reduced consumption and farmers are compelled to sell chicken at throw away prices,” said T.P. Sethumadhavan, former director, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).
Travel ban and measures to reduce transmission chain for controlling COVID-19 have reduced the number of consumers in the urban and rural poultry farms. This trend is prevalent across the country and more in south India. On an average, it causes a monthly loss of around ₹300 crore.
Restrictions on get-togethers, weddings and meetings further aggravated the situation. Now farmers are trying to dispose of live birds and evade the sector. Price of poultry meat and eggs from Tamil Nadu had also been reduced, Dr. Sethumadhavan said.
Farmers and entrepreneurs are unable to repay the loan. Without adequate support, this sector cannot be revived in the near future. Nearly five-lakh families in the State are involved in poultry farming. Kerala Chicken through Kudumbashree is also facing the same fate.
