Poultry production drops as summer peaks

Summer has taken a heavy toll on the poultry sector and the production has dropped substantially, according to the national member of the National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC), Mr B. Rama Rao,

The rate of a dressed chicken has touched Rs 194. A month ago, it was in the range of Rs 130-150 a kg.

The ex-poultry rate for live birds has gone up from Rs 60-94 a kg.

Mr Rama Rao explained that during peak summer the food intake of the birds drops drastically and it becomes difficult for the poultry farmers to produce birds of the desired weight.

The drop in weight could range between 30 and 50 per cent. If a bird weighs about a kilogram under normal weather conditions, during peak summer, it would weigh between 600 and 700 gm.

“Due to this reason, there would be a severe drop in the production,” he said.

Apart from the reduction in weight, the survival of the birds is also a crucial factor.

During April-June, the survival rate falls by 20-30 per cent.

“Both the factors bring down the production rapidly and this results in rate hike,” said Mr Rama Rao.

He said another reason for the rate hike was the steep increase in the feed rate. “The feed rate has grown to Rs 2,700 a quintal from Rs 1,700 during the past four months,” he said.

Soya is the main feed for the birds, and the fall of rupee in combination with the increase in export of soya has seen the increase in its rate in the domestic market.

However, the price of eggs has not increased correspondingly.

“Two months ago it was Rs 2.65 for an egg and it remains so even today. But the production has fallen by 20-30 per cent. The price of eggs has not increased, as the demand for eggs normally drops during summer,” said the Zonal Chairman, Mr G. Ramakrishna Chowdhary.

>vzchs@thehindu.co.in

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