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.
Showing posts with label AgroBiz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AgroBiz. Show all posts
Monday, September 03, 2007
MoAC unveils commercial agriculture policy
MoAC unveils commercial agriculture policy
eKantipur.com, 25-Jul-2007
The Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC) on Wednesday unveiled a policy focusing on commercialization of agriculture sector for the fiscal year 2007/08.
Under the policy, MoAC has planned for a long-term lease of government-owned barren land to landless people for the purpose of commercial and co-operative farming.
The MoAC is also launching parwar (pointed gourd) farming in eleven districts, potato farming in 20 districts along with the programs targeted to uplift under-privileged groups in the terai.
“We have put commercialization of agriculture in top priority while formulating current fiscal year's policy,” said Dr Hari Dahal, spokesperson at MoAC, talking to the Post on Wednesday. "We are also continuing One Village One Product (OVOP) program this year for the commercialization of fruits and fish varieties like trout. The ministry has allocated Rs 30 million this year for OVOP program.
The government is also encouraging commercial farming of herbs, cooperative animal husbandry in 22 districts inhabited by backward people including the emancipated Kamaiyas, along with off-season vegetable farming inside green house to generate income among underprivileged classes, states the policy paper of MoAC.
The policy also has incorporated programs of lending goats in additional 38 districts to provide opportunity to poor farmers in goat rearing, and operating fisheries through women's groups along the highway in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts.
The ministry has also framed a policy to expand tea cultivation in other districts of the eastern region under the program of intensifying high-valued crops and off-season agricultural produce while programs will be initiated to extend coffee cultivation in additional districts of western hilly region.
Under the policy, the ministry has allocated Rs 37.9 million to provide subsidy in chemical fertilizers and seeds in 26 districts whereas the limit of subsidized loan has been hiked to Rs 15,000 from existing Rs 10,000.
To promote export of organic agricultural produces, government has laid a provision to issue internationally recognized certified demand paper.
Much to the relief of sugarcane producing farmers, government is forming Sugarcane and Sugar Board with the representation of farmers and sugar mill representatives and to conduct research to increase productivity.
In a bid to replace mounting imports, the MoAC is initiating the policy of expanding onion farming in additional 2,400 hectares of land in Saptari, Siraha, Sarlahi, Bara, Dhanusha and Rupandehi districts.
eKantipur.com, 25-Jul-2007
The Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC) on Wednesday unveiled a policy focusing on commercialization of agriculture sector for the fiscal year 2007/08.
Under the policy, MoAC has planned for a long-term lease of government-owned barren land to landless people for the purpose of commercial and co-operative farming.
The MoAC is also launching parwar (pointed gourd) farming in eleven districts, potato farming in 20 districts along with the programs targeted to uplift under-privileged groups in the terai.
“We have put commercialization of agriculture in top priority while formulating current fiscal year's policy,” said Dr Hari Dahal, spokesperson at MoAC, talking to the Post on Wednesday. "We are also continuing One Village One Product (OVOP) program this year for the commercialization of fruits and fish varieties like trout. The ministry has allocated Rs 30 million this year for OVOP program.
The government is also encouraging commercial farming of herbs, cooperative animal husbandry in 22 districts inhabited by backward people including the emancipated Kamaiyas, along with off-season vegetable farming inside green house to generate income among underprivileged classes, states the policy paper of MoAC.
The policy also has incorporated programs of lending goats in additional 38 districts to provide opportunity to poor farmers in goat rearing, and operating fisheries through women's groups along the highway in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts.
The ministry has also framed a policy to expand tea cultivation in other districts of the eastern region under the program of intensifying high-valued crops and off-season agricultural produce while programs will be initiated to extend coffee cultivation in additional districts of western hilly region.
Under the policy, the ministry has allocated Rs 37.9 million to provide subsidy in chemical fertilizers and seeds in 26 districts whereas the limit of subsidized loan has been hiked to Rs 15,000 from existing Rs 10,000.
To promote export of organic agricultural produces, government has laid a provision to issue internationally recognized certified demand paper.
Much to the relief of sugarcane producing farmers, government is forming Sugarcane and Sugar Board with the representation of farmers and sugar mill representatives and to conduct research to increase productivity.
In a bid to replace mounting imports, the MoAC is initiating the policy of expanding onion farming in additional 2,400 hectares of land in Saptari, Siraha, Sarlahi, Bara, Dhanusha and Rupandehi districts.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Coffee production rises by 40 pc
Coffee production rises by 40 pc
eKantipur.com, 30-Jun-07
As farmers aggressively pursue commercial cultivation of coffee, Nepal recorded a whopping 40 percent rise in organic coffee production compared to last year, said officials.
Raghupati Chaudhary, acting chief of National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB), western regional office, said that coffee production this year has soared to 391 tons from 278 tons of last year.
Moreover, of the total production, Nepal exported 91.50 tons of coffee to countries such as Japan, USA, UK and South Korea, among others, this year.
“The export fetched the producers and marketers a total of Rs 5.6 million,” said Chaudhary, adding that Nepal had exported a mere Rs 2.45 million worth of coffee five years ago.
Coffee is produced in 40 districts in Nepal. Among them, eleven districts of western region alone produced 163 tons of coffee this year, shows the data of NTCDB.
Palpa, Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Syangja, Kaski, Parbat, Tanahun, Baglung, Lamjung, Gorkha and Myagdi are the western districts where commercial coffee cultivation is practiced. A total of 12,393 farmers in eleven districts of the region are actively involved in coffee farming.
Farmers into coffee production, meanwhile, urged the government to extend technical cooperation, subsidy on seed and pesticide along with market development activities.
“The government should bring in coffee policy on time so as to support the farmers and facilitate exporters,” said Mona Bhattarai, a coffee farmer, adding that scores of farmers could easily earn their livelihood easily from coffee production if the government supported it.
However, she stated farmers presently are not getting even bio-medicines on time to control diseases.
eKantipur.com, 30-Jun-07
As farmers aggressively pursue commercial cultivation of coffee, Nepal recorded a whopping 40 percent rise in organic coffee production compared to last year, said officials.
Raghupati Chaudhary, acting chief of National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB), western regional office, said that coffee production this year has soared to 391 tons from 278 tons of last year.
Moreover, of the total production, Nepal exported 91.50 tons of coffee to countries such as Japan, USA, UK and South Korea, among others, this year.
“The export fetched the producers and marketers a total of Rs 5.6 million,” said Chaudhary, adding that Nepal had exported a mere Rs 2.45 million worth of coffee five years ago.
Coffee is produced in 40 districts in Nepal. Among them, eleven districts of western region alone produced 163 tons of coffee this year, shows the data of NTCDB.
Palpa, Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Syangja, Kaski, Parbat, Tanahun, Baglung, Lamjung, Gorkha and Myagdi are the western districts where commercial coffee cultivation is practiced. A total of 12,393 farmers in eleven districts of the region are actively involved in coffee farming.
Farmers into coffee production, meanwhile, urged the government to extend technical cooperation, subsidy on seed and pesticide along with market development activities.
“The government should bring in coffee policy on time so as to support the farmers and facilitate exporters,” said Mona Bhattarai, a coffee farmer, adding that scores of farmers could easily earn their livelihood easily from coffee production if the government supported it.
However, she stated farmers presently are not getting even bio-medicines on time to control diseases.
DDC, private dairies hike milk price
DDC, private dairies hike milk price
eKantipur.com, 29-Jun-07
Dairy Development Corporation (DDC), a major state-owned dairy supplier and private dairy operators have increased milk price to Rs 29 per liter for the lean season (mid-February to mid-August) across the country effective from Saturday, a concerned official said.
They also decided to fix the milk price at Rs 28 per liter for flush season -during mid-August to mid February. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), an apex policymaking body of the dairy sector, had recommended milk price last month at Rs 28 per liter for flush season and Rs 29 for lean season from existing Rs 26 per liter. But DDC had defied the recommendation and had increased the milk price at one rupee less per liter than what was recommended.
“We decided to increase the price of milk by Rs 2 or Rs 3 per liter depending on the seasons” said Ram Kumar Khadka, president of Nepal Dairy Association (NDA), an umbrella organization of private dairy operators. He ruled out the possibility of increasing the price of milk products soon as their prices was increased just a couple of months back. Private dairies reached the decision to hike milk price at a gathering held in Kathmandu on Friday.
A meeting of board of directors of DDC has also decided to increase the price to Rs 29 per liter from Rs 28. Likewise, the price of whole milk has been set at Rs 32 per liter for flush season and Rs 33 for lean season.
In the earlier decision, DDC had increased only Rs 2 per liter from existing Rs 26 per liter for all seasons effective from June 15th for Kathmandu Valley, while keeping the price unchanged outside the Valley.
The new adjustment was made in response to the government's decision and increased purchase price of milk, said Raghav Kishore Bhattarai, acting deputy general manager of DDC.
A government initiated meeting of stakeholders including high-ranking government officials held on June 21st at Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) had decided to maintain price uniformity and had asked DDC to rollback its previous decision to increase the price that was one rupee less per liter than the recommendation.
While private dairies also kept the milk price unchanged at Rs 26 per liter as a protest against DDC's decision, they exerted pressure on the government to intervene in the market. DDC, private dairies hike milk price
eKantipur.com, 29-Jun-07
Dairy Development Corporation (DDC), a major state-owned dairy supplier and private dairy operators have increased milk price to Rs 29 per liter for the lean season (mid-February to mid-August) across the country effective from Saturday, a concerned official said.
They also decided to fix the milk price at Rs 28 per liter for flush season -during mid-August to mid February. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), an apex policymaking body of the dairy sector, had recommended milk price last month at Rs 28 per liter for flush season and Rs 29 for lean season from existing Rs 26 per liter. But DDC had defied the recommendation and had increased the milk price at one rupee less per liter than what was recommended.
“We decided to increase the price of milk by Rs 2 or Rs 3 per liter depending on the seasons” said Ram Kumar Khadka, president of Nepal Dairy Association (NDA), an umbrella organization of private dairy operators. He ruled out the possibility of increasing the price of milk products soon as their prices was increased just a couple of months back. Private dairies reached the decision to hike milk price at a gathering held in Kathmandu on Friday.
A meeting of board of directors of DDC has also decided to increase the price to Rs 29 per liter from Rs 28. Likewise, the price of whole milk has been set at Rs 32 per liter for flush season and Rs 33 for lean season.
In the earlier decision, DDC had increased only Rs 2 per liter from existing Rs 26 per liter for all seasons effective from June 15th for Kathmandu Valley, while keeping the price unchanged outside the Valley.
The new adjustment was made in response to the government's decision and increased purchase price of milk, said Raghav Kishore Bhattarai, acting deputy general manager of DDC.
A government initiated meeting of stakeholders including high-ranking government officials held on June 21st at Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) had decided to maintain price uniformity and had asked DDC to rollback its previous decision to increase the price that was one rupee less per liter than the recommendation.
While private dairies also kept the milk price unchanged at Rs 26 per liter as a protest against DDC's decision, they exerted pressure on the government to intervene in the market. DDC, private dairies hike milk price
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Imported grain jack up chicken price
Imported grain jack up chicken price
eKantipur.com, 5-Jun-07
Lack of domestic production of major grain ingredients of chicken feed is pushing up chicken price beyond the reach of ordinary people, said experts at a program. The program is part of 16 commodity-wise events being organized jointly by National Agriculture Research and Development Fund (NARDF) and Agri-Business and Trade Promotion Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ABTRACO).
Dr Tilchandra Bhattarai, president of World Poultry Science Association-Nepal, said that nearly two billion rupees worth of maize, soyabean cake, sesame cake and sunflower cake were imported in this fiscal year alone. “These can be easily produced locally which can not only drive down the prices of chicken and eggs but also provide a lot of jobs,” he said.
Dr Dinesh Prasad Parajuli, senior livestock development official at the Livestock Production Directorate of Department of Livestock Services, said that imported grains lacked quality. “The high cost of feed has made chicken and eggs a lot more expensive than it should be. Local production of chicken and eggs could address food scarcity in remote parts of the country,” he said.
Bhattarai also called for a reduction in duties and taxes on imported grains as they caused costs go up by nearly 12 percent. “We have to pay Agricultural Development fee and every truck load of grain is charged Rs 10,000 of local development tax,” he said.
Experts asked government, non-government organizations and donor agencies to pay attention to this problem and work to encourage production of major food grains in Nepal.
eKantipur.com, 5-Jun-07
Lack of domestic production of major grain ingredients of chicken feed is pushing up chicken price beyond the reach of ordinary people, said experts at a program. The program is part of 16 commodity-wise events being organized jointly by National Agriculture Research and Development Fund (NARDF) and Agri-Business and Trade Promotion Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ABTRACO).
Dr Tilchandra Bhattarai, president of World Poultry Science Association-Nepal, said that nearly two billion rupees worth of maize, soyabean cake, sesame cake and sunflower cake were imported in this fiscal year alone. “These can be easily produced locally which can not only drive down the prices of chicken and eggs but also provide a lot of jobs,” he said.
Dr Dinesh Prasad Parajuli, senior livestock development official at the Livestock Production Directorate of Department of Livestock Services, said that imported grains lacked quality. “The high cost of feed has made chicken and eggs a lot more expensive than it should be. Local production of chicken and eggs could address food scarcity in remote parts of the country,” he said.
Bhattarai also called for a reduction in duties and taxes on imported grains as they caused costs go up by nearly 12 percent. “We have to pay Agricultural Development fee and every truck load of grain is charged Rs 10,000 of local development tax,” he said.
Experts asked government, non-government organizations and donor agencies to pay attention to this problem and work to encourage production of major food grains in Nepal.
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