The Indian poultry industry is poised to grow at 5 to 8 per cent this year, says Chakradhar Rao Potluri, President, Indian Poultry Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (IPEMA).

The size of the market is pegged at ₹1.20-lakh crore. With severe price fluctuations resulting in huge losses, the poultry industry has asked the Union government to set up an exclusive Poultry Board to regulate the prices and production.

“The price scenario has become very unpredictable. The market prices of egg and chicken don’t have any sound basis. At the end of the day the poultry farmers are seeing huge losses,” Errabelli Pradeep Rao, President of Telangana Poultry Federation, told businessline.

Kasarla Mohan Reddy, General Secretary of the Federation, said scores of farmers with poultry farms under 10,000 birds have moved out of the business. “They are now part of bigger players that have begun to build integrated poultry farms,” he said.

States leading in poultry such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are facing a fresh challenge.

“Their traditional markets in the North have begun to develop the industry there, making it incompetitive for the southern States to market their poultry products,” he said.

IPEMA leader Anil Dhumal said that the cost of production had gone up significantly over the last 50 years. For one, the cost of manpower has gone up by 100 times to ₹350 from ₹3.50 in 1970s.

“But the prices of eggs by only 10 times. We are the most cost effective poultry industry in the world,” he said.

Poultry expo

Meanwhile, Indian Poultry Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (IPEMA) is organising a Knowledge Day Technical Seminar on November 22 and a three-day expo, beginning November 23.

Touted to be the South Asia’s biggest expo, the 14th edition would have about 370 companies showcasing their products and 30,000 visitors from India abroad.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW