The poultry industry in Andhra Pradesh, reeling already under the impact of the worst-ever drought in the state reflected in higher production costs and lower consumption rates, is now faced with an impending crisis which the industry fears to be the most severe.
The nation-wide transport strike which has entered into the fourth day is threatening the fortunes of the industry which is direly dependent on transport for its survival both inter-state and intra-state trade.
With the poultry feed supply lines drying up and storage problems mounting up at the farms, the poultry sector, particularly small and marginal farmers numbering about 15,000, is turning jittery.
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Usually, summer is the hard season for the industry and with the transport coming to a halt, severe losses would be caused to the industry if the stir does not end shortly, said the industry representatives at a press conference held here today.
The poultry industry as a whole deploys around 2,500 trucks in the state transportation of eggs, birds, chicks, feed, feed ingredients etc.
As these are perishable items (day-old chicks have to reach farms within 12 hours), the industry pleaded with the transporters to exempt poultry products from the strike purview as was being done in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Andhra Pradesh produces 3.5 crore eggs per day, of which around 2 crore are exported to other states. Its production per day of broilers and chicks amount to 1.8 crore and 5 lakh respectively.
At the farm end, storage of eggs, chicks etc has become a major problem, while small farmers do not normally maintain feed reserves for more than four to five days.
The losses, if they commence once, would be enormous for the industry which has been in the grip of crisis for the last two years, the representatives said.
The industry has represented its problems to the government and transporters alike and hopes a positive decision soon.
Among those who addressed the press conference were MP Seshaiah, the president of Andhra Pradesh Poultry Federation (APPF), M Damoder Reddy, the president of Poultry Breeders Association of Andhra Pradesh, D Sudhaker, the general secretary of APPF, and D Raghava Rao, the managing director of Kohinoor Hatcheries.