A decline in supply pushed up the prices of chicken, adding to the woes of consumers already reeling under the rising prices of fruit and vegetables.
The wholesale price of live weight chicken in the capital has gone up from R72 per kg to R93 per kg in just over a month, an increase of over 29%, according to the data released by poultry federation of India (PFI).
Correspondingly, the retail price of dressed chicken has jumped by 50% from R120 a kg to R180 per kg.
Traders at Delhi?s Ghazipur wholesale market attributed this to the decline in supply from Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. Rise in humidity and hike in power rates were also cited as reasons.
??Broiler prices declined last month because of the festive season as the demand was less from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and other northern states, forcing poultry farmers to run their farms at half the capacity,? Ricky Thaper, member, PFI, told FE.
However, even the wholesale egg prices have gone up from R2.45 per piece last month to R2.60. ??Due to shortage of chicken, we are anticipating a further rise in poultry prices,?? said Thaper.
Wholesale broiler prices, though, have remained stable at R65 a kg (Kolkata), R62 (Hyderabad), R69 (Bangalore) and R70 (Guwahati).
Meanwhile, the prices of poultry feed have remained stable during the last one month at R19,600 per tonne.
PFI data also indicate that, this year, corn or maize production is estimated at a record 21 million tonne against 16.6 million tonne in the previous year. Around 10 million tonne of soybeans was harvested this year.
?As 50% of the entire produce is exported, the availability of major feed ingredients will not be a major constraint in the future development of the domestic poultry industry,? said a Gurgaon-based poultry farmer.
The poultry feed prices constitute close to 70% of the cost of production. Their prices fluctuate periodically depending on the production of maize and soyabean.
The poultry industry, estimated to be worth R35,000 crore, has been growing at a steady pace. However, the per capita broiler consumption has increased from 146 gm in 1970s to 2.4 kg by 2010.