Egg, broiler demand rise with fall in temperature

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, June 2

Demand for egg and broiler has risen considerably this month with the fall in temperature, leading to an increase in the prices.

Over a month ago, live birds, which were selling at Rs 90 per kg, has now increased to Rs 120 per kg. Similarly, retail price of a kilogram of broiler rose from Rs 160 to about Rs 200. Cost of a piece of egg rose from Rs 3 to Rs 4.67 in the wholesale rate during the past one month. Now, it is being sold between Rs 5 to Rs 6 in the retail market.

Poultry farmers are of the view that the month of May buckled previous trends when people used to cut down consumption of poultry products as a fallout of the blazing heat. In contract this time temperature declined changing the eating pattern of people who preferred to consume poultry products.

GS Bedi, president of the Amritsar Poultry Farmers Association, said the change in weather offered a godsend opportunity to poultry farmers. He stated that after a couple of months festival of Sawan would come then they would find it difficult to clear the stock as the sale decline sharply. People avoid eating non-vegetarian food during over a month-long festival period.

Another poultry farmer Harjit Singh said they

were saved from high mortality rate of chicks and broilers this summer due to the absence of prolong searing heat.

However, high feed cost was another troublesome factor that was hurting the poultry farming. Rates of poultry feed was hiked from Rs 30 to Rs 42 per kg as the prices of its major ingredients soya and maize were increased in the market.

Local poultry farmers rear between three lakh to four lakh birds making the district self-sufficient in fulfilling its demand of poultry products.

Amrinder Singh, a poultry farmer, said the investment cost also shot up as hatcheries increased the price of a chick from Rs 20 per piece over a month ago to over Rs 30. Besides, costs on other heads like power, water, labour, rice husk, vaccines, medicines and vitamins besides mortality, transportation, packaging and other heads also add to the cost of a farmer.