Chicken prices continued to soar on Thursday with a skinless bird at retailers being sold at over the ₹230 per kg mark, an increase of over ₹50 over the past two weeks.
In what could be a damper for foodies, observers predict that prices are unlikely to let up even in the next fortnight.
While retailers said the list price for a live bird on Thursday was ₹131 per kg and for skinless was ₹223 per kg, some were seen charging up to ₹240 per kg for skinless.
Industry experts said there has been a decrease in production this season and fewer chicks were being bought at poultry farms. Compared to other months, the chick mortality rate is over two times higher in summer, the experts explained.
“The trend is that in summers, the mortality rate increases from around 4% or 5% to over 11%. This results in lesser production,” said Venkateshwara Hatcheries General Manager K.G. Anand.
Barring the occasional thunder shower, days are expected to remain hot and experts said prevailing prices could continue past the first week of June. Industry experts said the farm-gate prices, meaning the price of chicken at the poultry farm without overhead costs such as transportation, too have increased during the last fortnight. While the cost was around ₹80 per kg a fortnight ago, it hovered around ₹100 this week.
As per the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh Broiler Coordination Committee website, the suggested night lifting farm-gate rates on Tuesday for Warangal, Kurnool and Karimnagar was ₹104 and was ₹103 for Hyderabad.
Experts said input cost is a secondary factor behind the increase in price.
“It is not a major reason, but the input cost goes up during maize and soya crop arrivals,” a poultry farmer said, pegging the rise at 2%. Officials of the Department of Animal Husbandary and Fisheries (DAHF) clarified that while the chick mortality rate is high, it is a cyclic process.
“All livestock suffer in the heat., especially if temperature reaches 40 degree Celsius. The production will increase once summer is over,” said DAHF Director (Poultry) Venugopal Rao.
