Poultry industry leaders from across the country have called for coordinated efforts to steady broiler chicken prices and keep a benchmark price of ₹110 a kg for live chicken, The Hindu reported.
The decision was taken at a meeting in Hyderabad on Monday (November 2) of the All India Poultry Breeders Association (AIPBA), the Pan India Breeders Coordination Committee (PIBCC) and several state poultry associations. AIPBA chairman Bahadur Ali, PIBCC convenor Vasanth Kumar Shetty and Telangana Poultry Breeders Association president A. Tirupathi Reddy were among those present.
Why prices fell
The leaders said the recent drop in chicken prices was largely seasonal, coming at a time of lower consumption during the festival period, and urged farmers and traders not to panic, The Hindu reported. They described the fall as temporary.
The feed problem
The bigger worry is cost. Maize prices have risen amid shortages that the meeting attributed to El Niño conditions, pushing up the cost of producing each bird. The leaders want the government to allow duty-free imports of non-genetically modified maize, and noted that soybean is plentiful in the market.
What next
The associations plan to meet government representatives and policymakers in New Delhi next week to press these demands.
The ₹110 figure is an industry target; the reports do not say how it would be held. The Hindu's report is the only account of the meeting found so far, and no government response to the demands has been reported.