After close to three decades of operations, the broiler and poultry sector in the country has launched a promotional campaign to highlight the benefits of consuming chicken.

C R Selvakumar, Deputy General Manager, Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt Limited, told BusinessLine that despite the sector becoming more organised, every time there is a report of bird flu in the country, the industry reports a loss of ₹2,000 crore.

No panic

The loss is both direct (due to steep decline in prices) and indirect (farmers forced to cull birds resulting in production loss).

“There is no need to panic as the bio safety measures at the farm level ensure eradication of the outbreak at the farm level itself. Further, it has been proved that chicken and egg consumption is safe in India considering our climate and cooking pattern,” he said. Stating that India ranks third in egg production (next only to China and the US) at 65 million and fourth in broiler production at 3.8 million tonnes, Selvakumar said.

To boost offtake

“But our per capita consumption is still low at 3.5 kg against NIM’s recommendation of 11 kg and nowhere near the US and European consumption of 45 plus kg.”

While the sector is trying to tell people the goodness of chicken and egg, some disturbing and unconfirmed reports are hurting its growth from time to time, he said.

The industry has started to air the wellness of chicken consumption via the FM radio channel.

“We have many more plans going forward,” he said.

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