Chicken prices zoom as supply takes a hit

TS consumes 3 crore chickens and 1 crore eggs daily

The price of chicken has increased from `180 to `280 within a week due to disruption in supply chain from the neighbouring states.

Now that lockdown restrictions have been lifted, demand for chicken has skyrocketed and so has its price in Hyderabad. The mortality rate of birds was on the higher side due to mixed infections, which was one of the key factors increasing the demand of livestock.

The price of eggs has also increased from `4 apiece to `6 in the last couple of days. Government authorities maintained that fluctuations in the price was the result of the losses incurred by the poultry industry. To overcome the financial crisis, the poultry industry is fleecing consumers.

Telangana state consumes three crore chickens and one crore eggs daily. Of this, 60 per cent is met from the supplies within the state and the rest is fulfilled by neighbouring states, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

D. Sudhakar, from the Poultry Federation, said that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s call to consume chicken to boost immunity had given a major boost to the industry. He said that it would take some time to get chicken and egg prices stable as supplies to the city had reduced.

“This is not the fault of the government. There are several factors that have caused the surge in the prices. The labour working in neighbouring states have stopped loading and unloading the stock and drivers were reluctant to deliver stocks to the city,” he said. Sudhakar said that the price rise would help the cause of the poultry industry which has been in doldrums for various reasons such as five per cent GST on oil cake diet. Since the consumption of chicken is high on Sundays, industry managements are exploiting the consumers with a sudden increase in prices. The government is playing mute spectator in the control of prices, consumers pointed out.