The Hindu Business Line : TN bankers mull poultry package

Hatching a help
The bankers' meet favourably considered the poultry sector's plea for expanding the working capital.
SBI has indicated allowing a stand-by line of credit to the industry as provided to the agriculture sector.

Coimbatore , March 28

A state-level bankers' committee has initiated deliberations on the scope of considering a special financial package sought by the troubled poultry industry.

The first meeting of the state committee of the bankers, convened in Chennai , has positively moved towards the industry's plea for rescheduling poultry loans and enlarging the working capital needs for poultry producers whose finances have been severely hit by loss of market in the aftermath of the bird flu scare.

Rescheduling loans

According to Mr Valsan, Secretary of the All India Poultry Products Exporters Association, the Namakkal-based poultry producers body at whose request the meeting was held, while some banks including the Canara Bank have already initiated steps to reschedule the existing term loans for the poultry accounts with a moratorium on repayment of loan and interest, other banks are also in the process of undertaking a similar exercise.Canara Bank, Mr Valsan said, has informed that it had already extended a loan reschedule for the poultry sector

Mr Valsan said the bankers' meet also favourably considered the poultry sector's plea for expanding the working capital. The State Bank of India has indicated of allowing a stand-by line of credit to the poultry industry as given to the agriculture sector.

The meet was attended by the officials from SBI, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, Canara Bank and private sector banks having exposure in poultry loans.

Officials from Reserve Bank of India and the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development, the Director of the Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department, Dr Palanivelu, and Dr Koteeswara Rau of the Tamil Nadu University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, were present at the meet.

Faced with the falling sales of broilers and table eggs, poultry producers in the State have initiated production cutting measures.

Cut in production

The hatcheries catering to the layer segment are believed to have cut bird placement by 30 per cent and similar efforts are also underway among the broiler producing hatcheries too.

According to poultry industry sources, in view of the severe liquidity crunch in the market, barring the major integrated poultry producers, others are finding it difficult to maintain supply of the feeds to the farms raising birds.

Many poultry farms are said to have adopted forced `molting', a practice of restricted feeding of birds to cause their weight-shedding which will slowdown the egg-laying capacity.

This process, expected to last for about 30 days, according to industry sources would result in arresting shell egg production temporarily before the birds could regain bodyweight and start laying eggs once again.

Some 10 per cent of the birds are under `forced molting' in the State's poultry farms, it is said.

More Stories on : Poultry | Farm credit | Tamil Nadu

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