The Hindu Business Line : Bird flu: AP poultry farmers mull cutting down egg output

Fire-fighting
Andhra Pradesh produces nearly five crore eggs a day and six lakh broilers a day.
The Poultry Federation has decided to put a cap of Rs 135 (per 100 eggs) as retail price.
NECC assures that the Union Government has agreed to launch a publicity campaign nation-wide to tell that it is absolutely safe to eat poultry products.
The Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board has already launched a campaign, assuring the consumers that there was no bird flu in Delhi.

K.V. Kurmanath

Hyderabad, Jan 20

With reports of avian influenza in West Bengal spreading like wildfire causing about Rs 800 crore loss to the Rs 32,000-crore poultry industry in the country, poultry farmers in Andhra Pradesh, which accounts for one-third of the total market, are mulling cutting down on egg production for at least one week.

“This is both to reduce the losses and stabilise the market,” Mr K.V.S. Subba Raju, Chairman of NECC’s (National Egg Coordination Committee), Hyderabad Zone, told Business Line.

The State produces nearly five crore eggs a day and six lakh broilers a day.

The Poultry Federation has decided to put a cap of Rs 135 (per 100 eggs) as retail price in order to boost the sagging morale of the farmers. “We are going to advertise widely in this regard,” he said.

Egg prices which used to be about Rs 1.75 week ago plummeted to sub-rupee levels in all parts of the State, causing huge losses to poultry farms. Prices of broilers too were hit.

At a fire-fighting meeting here, about 50 farmers, representing nearly 40 per cent of the poultry farmers in the Hyderabad zone, have decided not to fall prey to the tactics of dealers and traders.

“They are trying to fish in the troubled waters. They are quoting lesser price, saying that another farmer had agreed to sell at a low price,” a poultry farmer from Rangareddy district said.

Asking the farmers to be united, Mr Subba Raju asked them not to give into the arm-twisting by traders and not to resort to panic selling.

Creating Awareness

“Unlike in the earlier crisis, this time around consumers are not shying away from buying eggs and chicken. The problem lies with the traders,” Mr Subba Raju said.

“The problem is confined to just 4-5 districts of West Bengal. We should highlight this point,” he observed.

While the bird flu reports had a direct impact on sales, transshipments to West Bengal itself had come to a standstill.

“We send five lakh hatching eggs and 50 lakhs of layer eggs every day to Kolkata. This has stopped for the last five days,” Mr D. Ramreddy, President of Poultry Breeders Association of Andhra Pradesh, said.

With the crisis hitting them very hard, the breeders too have decided to convene a meeting on Monday to chart future course of action.

NECC assurance

Meanwhile, Ms Anuradha Desai, Chairperson of NECC and Managing Director of Venkateshwara Hatcheries, has assured the poultry farmers that the Union Government had agreed to launch a publicity campaign nation-wide to tell people that it was absolutely safe to eat poultry products if cooked properly.

The Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board has already launched a campaign, assuring the consumers that there was no bird flu in Delhi.

“The whole sale poultry market at Ghazipur is under constant surveillance. A team of veterinarians is checking all poultry,” it said.

The Andhra Pradesh Government too has taken up a similar initiative, keeping a vigil on poultry farms.

More Stories on : Poultry | Andhra Pradesh

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Bird flu: AP poultry farmers mull cutting down egg output