Coronavirus: Poultry farmers blame social media as chicken sales drop sharply

The wholesale price of chicken at poultry farms has hit rock bottom at around Rs 7 per kilo causing a crisis among poultry farmers in Maharashtra as the production cost is as high as Rs 70 a kilo

The coronavirus scare and false alarms on social media have badly hit the poultry industry. The wholesale price of chicken at poultry farms has hit rock bottom at around Rs 7 per kilo causing a crisis among poultry farmers in Maharashtra as the production cost is as high as Rs 70 a kilo, industry experts said.

A poultry farmer on the outskirts of the city selling his produce at throwaway prices on Wednesday. (HT/PHOTO)

Pankaj Tuptevar, a poultry industry professional and South Asia head of the animal feed manufacturer, Nutristar, said, “Although prices have crashed at the farmers’ level, chicken retailers have not brought down the prices comparatively in urban areas. The poultry industry has tried to convince traders to sell chicken at Rs 50 to Rs 60 per kg to boost consumption in urban areas. However, since traders are unorganised, they are not willing to bring down the retail prices. The demand for chicken has come down sharply all over India and the industry is facing a tough challenge in trying to come out of this situation. Farmers and poultry companies are suffering huge losses.”

PG Pedgaonkar, manager at the poultry giant Venky’s (Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group), confirmed the crisis and said farmers were ready to dispose of the birds or even give them way for free. “It would be very tough for the industry to come out of this without government support. The misinformation on social media linking coronavirus to poultry has severely affected the poultry industry and the prospects of farmers who are dependent on it,” he said.

Rumours and false alarms are being spread on social media that chickens are transmitting Covid-19 (coronavirus), according to poultry farmers.

Poultry farmer Kiran Thackeray from Nampur in Nashik district blamed the misinformation on social media for the crisis. “Although government and medical experts have stated clearly that coronavirus has nothing to do with chicken and mutton consumption, the consumers are disturbed. I have 6,000 poultry birds and the production cost for live chicken is Rs 65 to Rs70 per kg. We normally get an average rate of Rs 80 to Rs 85 per kg at the farm, but now the rates have dropped to Rs 7 to Rs 10 per kg,” he said. Thackeray said he and many other poultry farmers were worried about their future. “Farmers whose poultry batch is ready are worried and don’t know what to do with the mature birds. There are no buyers and the feeding cost is rising by the day. The cost of feed is a major component of the total production cost,” he said.

Ishwar Bhalerao, manager, AV Broiler, Satana in Nashik said, “Usually, poultry birds are ready in 45 days, but at many farms, the birds are now around 60 to 70 days old. Maintaining the birds is heavily adding to the production cost.”