Poultry product prices skyrocket

Poultry product prices skyrocket
eKantipur.com, 22-Aug-2007
BY PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE & DIPENDRA BADUWAL

Ban in import of parent chicks from countries suspected of bird-flu and their dwindling number in the country has triggered a shortage of chicken and eggs, sparking a fresh price hike in poultry products.

Poultry entrepreneurs have even warned that the prices would further shoot up soon, culminating to a record high with supplies showing no sign of improvement.

Fearing possible transmission of the fatal avian influenza, the government put a stop in the import of parent chicks from India, Bangladesh, USA, Denmark and of late from Germany.

"We were importing chicks from Australia but it could not be continued due to inconvenience in flight schedules. The chicks are vulnerable if undelivered within a given time," said Dr Til Chandra Bhattarai, managing director of Pancharatna Poultry Group, one of the largest poultry farms in the country.

"For last couple of months, we have been seeing a gradual decline in the number of parent chicks," Bhattarai, who is also the immediate past president of Nepal Poultry Entrepreneurs Forum (NPEF) told the Post and added that the market is seeing a 12-percent deficit in supplies.

According to him, the stock of parent population of broiler chicken stands at only 280,000, down from around 400,000 that is necessary to fulfill the current demand.

Likewise, the population of the egg laying chicken is also running low. "We need at least 40,000 chicks in the farms but right now there are only around 32,000," Bhattarai said, adding that the situation is going to further worsen as import of chicks has come to a standstill. And, the possibility of immediately importing chicks is almost nil.

"We are preparing to import chicks from Sri Lanka as bird-flu has not been detected there and flight schedule from there to Nepal is also convenient. But it will take time."

According to poultry entrepreneurs, improvement in tourism and other sectors that are major consumers of poultry products after the end of the decade long insurgency pushed up the demand.

The price of eggs went from Rs 105 per crate (30 eggs) to Rs 120 where as the price of broiler chicken has gone up to Rs 135 per kg from Rs 115. Bhattarai warned that the price of chicken could go up by 20 percent within a month.

Production of eggs shrunk from around 540 million pieces per year to 450 million pieces last year. Last year, 45.8 million kg of broiler chicken were consumed, down from the normal 66 million kg.