As the demand for broilers has plunged and there is hardly any sale despite the prices going below ₹150 per kilogram, fish prices have increased by 21% and mutton’s by 27% owing to increased demand.
Speaking about this, the president of the Sector-21 Meat Market Association, Ashish Kumar, said, “People think of mutton and fish as a safer option, due to which their prices have been rising steadily over the past week.”
Kumar said that fish was priced at ₹330 per kg in the beginning and the price had now gone up to ₹400 per kg. Mutton went from ₹550 per kg to ₹700 per kg now. Kumar, however, added that the rise in prices would have happened regardless of the avian flu outbreak as people preferred to eat mutton and fish during peak winter season.
Meanwhile, the price of broilers that had crossed ₹200 per kg around the start of the month is now between ₹140- ₹150 per kg, and sales continue to remain below half at the meat market in Sector 21.
Prices up in Mohali, Panchkula as well
{{/usCountry}}Prices up in Mohali, Panchkula as well
{{/usCountry}}As per Ricky, the owner of RS Chicken in Phase 5, Mohali, the sale of chicken in Mohali hasn’t been affected as much as in Chandigarh, however, the prices are dropping there as well. “We have had a 25% drop in the sale of chicken, but people prefer to buy mutton even here.
“The price of mutton starts at ₹700 per kg here and some premium cuts can go for as high as ₹800-900 per kg.” He added that mutton curry cut had become the most-sold item in his shop.
In Panchkula, people were preferring fish, as per proprietor of Bedi Chicken in Sector 2, Panchkula, Harsimran Bedi, who said, “People prefer boneless cuts of cold-water fish like Basa, which sells for ₹200 per 250 gram. The cheaper cuts of fish with bones don’t do that well.”
Cooked chicken, eggs safe to consume
Saying that it was unfortunate that people weren’t buying eggs and chicken and the shopkeepers were suffering because of this, joint director of the UT animal husbandry and fisheries department, Dr Kanwarjit Singh, said, “It is safe to consume both chicken and eggs if they have been cooked over 70 degrees Celsius. Boiling them is the safest option. The strain of avian flu identified in Panchkula doesn’t spread easily and people can safely consume chicken or meat products that have been cooked properly,” he said, adding that grilled chicken may be avoided, but gravy dishes were okay to eat.