Poultry stocks dip, sales drop

No fresh human cases of avian flu in Navapur.

Major poultry stocks today took a beating at the bourses despite the union government's assurance that the spread of avian influenza was under control and there was no need for panic.

The stock price of poultry major Venky's (India) slipped by 6.74 per cent to close at Rs 144.55 as poultry product prices fell across India.

Other stocks which dipped substantially were Hind Industries (4 per cent), SKM Egg Products Exports (India) Ltd. (12 per cent) and Srinivas Hatcheries (4.94 per cent).

Export of poultry products, too, is likely to suffer, with major buyers in the sub-continent like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal having banned the import of poultry products from India.

States like Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala have also banned poultry products from various parts of the country.

Kerala, which issued a ban on buying of poultry products from neighbouring state Tamil Nadu, later lifted it, on the condition that the Tamil Nadu animal husbandry department certify for cleanliness of the stocks being sent. Of the 40 lakh broiler chicken produced every week in Tamil Nadu, an estimated 25 lakh is sold in Kerala.

Prices of broiler chicken today fell to Rs 25 a kg at the Gazipur wholesale market near Delhi from yesterday's price of Rs 34 a kg.

On February 18, before news of the bird flu outbreak spread, the prevailing price was Rs 52 a kg. However, price erosion was limited in Tamil Nadu, where the whole sale price slipped only by Rs 2 a kg to Rs 32.

Anuradha Desai, head of the Rs 1,300-crore Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group, said the impact of the birdflu on the poultry industry could be severe. Sales of chicken had already dropped 40 to 60 per cent, she said, adding the impact would soon spill over to sales of eggs.

The Rs 813-crore Suguna Poultry Farm Ltd said its sales had dipped by over 30 per cent in the last two days. Major markets like Bangalore, too, reported a fall in the sales of broiler chicken by 10 per cent and a 30 per cent drop in egg sales. The city consumes 70,000 birds and 1.20 crore eggs a day.

According to Desai, foreign buyers have made enquiries about the situation, but there has been no export cancellations so far. "We are doing our best to convince the (foreign) buyers, but we can't say when things will get difficult," she said.