The Hindu : Poulterers have a rotten time

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Poulterers have a rotten time

By A. V. Ragunathan

A poultry at Namakkal. — Photo: P. Goutham

NAMAKKAL April 18. The ongoing truck strike has sent shock waves in the poultry industry, which is saddled with an average daily production of 1.30 crore eggs. A perishable commodity, the egg could not be stored for long, and particularly during summer, the shelf-life is shorter. If not lifted in time, the accumulating stocks would cause a Rs 1.40-crore loss every day, it is said.

Moreover, the survival of about 2.35 crore birds is also in jeopardy, as feed availability has also been hit. Normally the poultry units consume daily 4,300 tonnes of feeds, coming from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The units, in anticipation of the strike, procured feeds but after a week it would become difficult to feed the birds.

Realising the gravity of the situation, the Namakkal Region Poultry Feeds and Egg Producers' Association, at an emergency meeting, decided to despatch eggs in a convoy at periodical intervals with police escort.

After having waited for three days, the industry mobilised 175 trucks on Thursday to send 2.37 crore eggs from three points in Namakkal district to consuming centres. Another consignment would leave by Saturday. The immediate deployment of trucks is possible, as the industry owns about 700 vehicles.

But the industry is now facing the problem of excessive egg production, and removal of this item from the noon meal scheme too has added to its woes. The noon meal centres used to consume 70 lakh eggs a week.

The cost of production an egg works out to Rs 1.20, but the sale price is fixed at Rs 1.10, say sources. As such, the poultry units are already incurring heavy losses, and if the truck strike continues for another couple of days, the industry would be crippled.

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