TIRUPUR: Already reeling under the weight of a global coronovirus scare, the poultry farmers here have been dealt another body blow with the rumours of bird flu flying around.
The broiler chicken industry has decided to cut its losses by dropping the procurement price of chicken to Rs 28 a kg from the Rs 80 just they were fetching a fortnight ago.
In the retail markets of Palladam, the price is hovering around Rs 45- Rs 50 as against the Rs 130 per kg a fortnight ago.
The development is emblematic of the mayhem the virus scare has wrought. The broiler chicken industry in the western Tamil Nadu is worth over Rs 4,000 crore, with 5,000-odd farms in Palladam Taluk alone. They 10 lakh chicken produced everyday find a strong customer base in Coimbatore, Erode, Dindigul and Tirupur. With demand slumping in the wake of the bird flu rumours, many farmers are offering their produce dirt cheap. This besides the 15-20 farms that have already shut shop in Palladam Taluk. If the reports are to believed, some poultry owners are selling their produce for as cheap as Rs 15 per kg. The slowdown that was first attributed to coronavirus snowballed into a slump soon after social media messages raised the bogey of bird flu, with the business losing the potential of taking the investors to break-even point. Explains Palladam Broiler Coordination Committee secretary K Chinnasamy: “This is the worst time for the broiler industry in the western zone. Due to the rumours of coronavirus, sale slumped in the past two months. Two weeks ago, the minimum price Rs 80 a kg, which dropped to Rs 70 last week, and touched its nadir of Rs 28 now.”
With the prospects of profit diminishing, farmers are increasingly cutting their losses. V Shanmugam, a chicken stall owner in Palladam, says that the price slump in a fortnight is unprecedented. “From Rs 100 a kg to Rs 45, the price slump has been acute. This can be attributed to coronavirus and bird flu scare,” he adds.