Poultry sector crows for respite in Karnataka

Chicken prices in the state, after a brief recovery, have nose-dived following fresh incidents of bird flu in Maharashtra during the last few days.

The chicken trade, which had collapsed last month after the bird flu first hit the country, had slightly recovered after a series of chicken and egg melas organised by the National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) and Karnataka Hatcheries Association (KHA) at various places in the state.

The price of live chicken had risen to Rs 40 per kg in select markets and egg prices had gone up to Rs 1.25 in the retail market. The prices of chicken have now declined to Rs 16-18 per kg in most of the markets. The situation with egg sales is no different. Farmers are forced to sell at a mere 45 paise per egg, while the retail prices are hovering at Rs 1.25 per egg. Karnataka produces an average 1.25 crore eggs per day and the daily sales is about 40-50 per cent.

Most of the chicken markets wore a deserted look on Friday as customers shied away following reports on Friday that the flu has hit Shiddlaghatta in Kolar district and parts of Hyderabad-Karnataka.

The huge losses that the industry has incurred, since the first incidence of bird flu in Nandurbar of Maharashtra, is becoming unbearable. Industry sources have already estimated their losses over Rs 150 crore. Now, the occurrence of bird flu in Jalagaon of Maharashtra has rubbed salt into the wounds of the poultry farmers.

As of Sunday, the chicken sales were running at only 50-55 per cent of production in the state. As against the daily production of about 10 lakh kgs of chicken in Karnataka, nearly 4.5 lakh kgs of chicken is left unsold, thereby causing huge losses to the industry.

Said Nanda Kumar, chairman, KHA, "Our situation has turned from bad to worse after the Jalagaon case of bird flu. There are not many takers for our chicken in many parts of the state. Consumption and prices are falling rapidly."

"We are absolutely helpless. It is very unfortunate that the farmers are getting only 45 paise per egg after making so much investment. After Jalagaon reported bird flu, there is little movement in the market," said Sainath, National Egg Coordination Committee chairman for Karnataka.

The poultry farmers in the state are incurring loss of Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 4 crore a day, he said.

On Thursday, about 2,000 birds were found dead in a pond at Shidlaghatta in Kolar district and another 500 in Yalaburga taluk of Koppal district in north Karnataka. It is also reported that about 8-10 dogs died after consuming the dead chicken in Kolar district.

However, G Krishnappa, director, Institute of Animal Health & Veterinary Biologicals told Business Standard, "There is no bird flu in Karnataka. The death of birds in Shidlaghatta may have happened from certain other diseases that occur during the summer season. There is no reason for worry."

He said a farmer in Hubli gave away nearly 5,000 birds to passersby for free on Thursday as there were none to buy his stock. Many other farmers have just thrown away the dead birds for fear of bird flu, but there has been no confirmed case of the dreaded disease, he said.

Krishnappa said the animal husbandry department has taken enough precautions to control bird flu in the state.

"All the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation in this regard have been strictly adhered to in the state. We have set up a rapid action force to face any eventuality. The government has sanctioned us Rs 80 lakh to purchase the equipment for surveillance and kept aside Rs 5 crore as compensation for farmers if required," he said.

Till now, over 9,000 samples have been sent from the state to the National Virology Institute, Bhopal. But, these have tested negative for bird flu.

NECC along with the Karnataka Cooperative Poultry Federation (KCPF) had organised a "chicken mela" in Bangalore on Sunday. The mela was held in Shivajinagar and chicken and egg dishes were distributed free of cost to over 25,000 people. So far, over 10 such melas have been held all over the state.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Belgaum has sealed the border adjoining Maharashtra and banned the import of birds and eggs into the state.