Avian flu hits chicken, egg prices

Broiler chicken and egg wholesale prices dropped in the northern markets by 11 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, following the confirmation of the bird flu case in the north-eastern state of Manipur.

Ex-farm prices of chicken came down from Rs 45 to Rs 40 a kg in just one day, while egg prices slipped from Rs 1.45 to Rs 1.30 an egg, mainly in the northern markets.

Industry sources from the south denied any impact of the flu on the price or demand of poultry products.

"There is panic selling among farmers, and the farm gate broiler chicken prices crashed by Rs 5 per kg. However, since the affected area is in the border and significantly away from this part, chances of a further impact are negligible," said Surjit Singh, managing director of Chandigarh-based Sagri Hatcheries.

At the Bombay Stock Exchange, the share prices of poultry companies saw a downward trend on reports of bird flu. The share prices of Srinivasa Hatcheries declined by 4.88 per cent to Rs 69.20 over its previous close, while that of Venky's India slipped down by 4.70 per cent to Rs 150.10.

Meanwhile, culling operations started today in 8 villages surrounding the infected area in Manipur. According to a report sent from the state government to Union government, about 1.5 lakh birds are likely to be culled in the operations.

To ensure that exports of poultry products from the country does not suffer in case the situation aggravates, the National Egg Coordination Committee has demanded the zoning of poultry pockets. The move has been notified to the World Organisation for Animal Health and all importing countries, so that even if one of the zones gets affected by bird flu, exports from other zones will remain unaffected.

In 2005-06, the country had exported poultry products worth Rs 326 crorev. However, in the April-January period of 2006-07, poultry exports slipped to Rs 231 crore as exports did not take place in the first four months (April-July) due to last year's flu outbreak.