Hyderabad, June 12Chicken prices are going through the roof across the country, with production of chicks dropping sharply due to scorching summer temperatures. Price of chicken in the retail markets hover around ₹280-320 a kg in different parts of the country. 

Though the price hike is common at this time of the year, the increase this year seem to be particularly steep.

Retail prices in Hyderabad are in the range of ₹310-320. Retail prices of dressed chicken are upwards of ₹200 per kg in Bengaluru.

While prices of live chicken ruled at ₹130 a kg and those of country chicken at ₹360 a kg in Chennai, live chicken prices in Kerala are ruling at ₹167. For meat, they are 40 per cent higher.

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Drop in production

Errabelli Pradeep Rao, a poultry industry leader, said it is quite common for prices to go up in the summer. “A majority of poultry farmers don’t go for additional production, fearing the death of chicks due to very high temperatures. It will be difficult to protect them from the heat wave,” he said.

“Farm gate prices are at about ₹168 a kg. This, perhaps, is the highest so far. There seems to be a drop of about 15 per cent in production. Poultry farms deliberately cut down on production in the summers to avoid higher mortality rates in the punishing temperatures,” Suresh Chitturi, Chairman and Managing Director of Srinivasa Hatcheries, told businessline.

The farmgate prices of live birds in Karnataka is in the range of ₹130-145 per kg. “Live bird prices are close to ₹145 now. The increase can be attributed to lower placements by farmers and also due to the summer seasonal conditions,” said Sushant Rai, President, Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Breeders’ Association (KPFBA).

During summer, poultry farmers traditionally reduce their placement of chicks as the mortality rate goes up due to the higher temperature.

“Farmers are getting a better price now. As against ₹100 a kg at the farm gate, they are getting ₹158-168. We expect this to continue for a few weeks till temperatures come down. Once temperatures dropr, we will go for normal production levels,” a poultry farmer from Ranga Reddy said.

India produces about 4 million tonnes of poultry meat annually, which is valued at about $18.5 billion. Poultry meat production constitutes 50 per cent of India’s total meat production.

Issues in Tamil Nadu

The spurt in prices is due to a combination of factors - higher demand for animal protein during summer, the 45-day fishing ban in neighbouring Kerala, and pricier mutton. 

This (price rise) is an usual phenomenon during summer. Chicken seems to be the only affordable source of animal protein as of now. Once the trawling ban ends, prices may stabilise, said a poultry farm owner in Namakkal. 

In Namakkal, the hub of poultry trade, egg prices have been ruling flat at₹5.15 a piece at the farmgate level for over a week now. With the schools set to reopen in the State, the consumption of eggs is set to increase - thanks to the mid-day meal scheme. With quality and lower price on their side, egg exporters are betting on tapping newer markets. Egg prices are set to rise in the coming days, said a note issued by K Singaraj, Zonal Vice-chairman, NECC (Namakkal zone).

Restaurants under pressure

The rising price of broiler chicken has put hotel and restaurant owners in Kerala in a fix as the hike has forced them to doll out an additional ₹2,000-3,000 for procuring poultry meat alone.

G.Jayapal, president of Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, said the wholesale price of broiler chicken meat now has gone up to ₹230 per kg at a time when various other raw material prices are moving up, making the business unviable. “However, we have collectively taken a decision not to increase the prices of chicken dishes as it would hit the business which is passing through a critical phase in the slowdown period”, he said.

“There has been an increasing demand for chicken dishes from customers because of the scarcity in getting fishes due to the annual monsoon trawling ban,” he said.

Prices to come down

Binny Immatty, state president, Poultry Farmers & Traders Samithy, claimed that the prices will start its southward movement from the next week as there are definite signals from the market on the improvement the situation in neighbouring production centers.

The higher chicken price is not a phenomenon in Kerala alone, the entire southern states is facing the problem because of lower production due to scorching summer. The situation has improved which would reflect in prices too, he said.

Kerala, he said, consumes around one crore broiler chicken every week with a sales turnover of around ₹150 crore. Of this, the production in the State makes up only 40-45 per cent, forcing the State to depend on neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to meet the demand.

(With inputs from Vishwanath Kulkarni in Bengaluru, Gayathri G in Chennai, Sajeev Kumar V in Kochi)

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