Pune: Prices Of Chicken, Eggs Fall As Fear Of Bird Flu Grips The City
Pune, January 10, 2021: Prices of eggs and chicken have dropped substantially, due to the rising bird flu cases. The poultry industry expects this to be temporary and believes that this situation will be put to rest in a week.
The state has seen chicken and other birds fall to their deaths, and these bird samples have been sent to the Bhopal-based National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases for testing. In the last week, wholesale prices of chicken in the city have fallen from Rs 82.48/kg to Rs 58.23/kg.
Prices of eggs have reduced down to around Rs 500 per 100 eggs, from Rs 550. The present price crunch comes as a result of the confirmation of bird flu cases from different parts of India, and also when the poultry industry has recorded good sales due during the winter.
Avian influenza has been detected in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh where birds have died in larger numbers. Maharashtra has till now remained clear of the flu, although it was the first to face it 15 years ago.
In 2006, many poultry owners had gone bankrupt as people have refrained from consuming poultry products. Prasanna Pedgaonkar, GM of Venkateshwara Hatcheries told the Indian Express, “This year around, as news comes from other states, some people are liquidating their stocks to prevent the same scenario.”
He expected the prices to stabilize in a week. The poultry industry had suffered a huge loss at the beginning of Covid as rumours had linked it to the consumption of chicken and eggs. The animal husbandry commissioner has confirmed the deaths of more than 200 chickens on a farm in Latur.
Sachindrapratap Singh, the animal husbandry commissioner, confirmed the deaths of 800 poultry birds in Parbhani. “Samples have been collected and officials are waiting for the report from the Bhopal laboratory”, he informed.
