Poultry sector in Telangana has taken a huge hit following demonetisation as it suffered a loss of Rs. 20 crore per day during the past 11 days. According to poultry breeders, the industry suffered 30 to 40 per cent loss during the first five to six days of demonetisation and business has not picked up till date.
The sector in the State is worth Rs. 10,000 crore that amounts to a significant share in the national volume of Rs. 1 lakh crore. The sector will incur further losses if the money chain does not get revitalised, experts in the field said.
The sector was worst hit as profitable season for poultry breeding starts with November, the same month the Centre demonetised currency. “Because of breeding limitations the profitable season for breeders lasts only for four months starting with November. Though the prices were expected to go up by Rs.4.5 or Rs.5 per egg in the coming month, it has remained a constant at Rs. 3.75. Even chicken prices have remained constant between Rs. 70 and Rs. 72 per kilo,” president of Poultry Breeders Association of Telangana G. Ranjith Reddy told The Hindu .
The breeders, led by the association on November 20 met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley requesting him to allow the use of old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes which are no longer legal tender. “We wanted him to exempt transactions on perishable goods including egg and chicken so that breeders do not face further loss,” Mr. Reddy said. The request, was however, turned down.
The poultry sector mostly works on cash flow. “Once cash flow is stopped at the retailer level the entire sector gets affected,” Mr. Reddy said. According to the breeders, even wholesale in poultry business is done with cash. Managing director of Chakra Group P. Chakradhar Rao, said the sector was also hit because of stoppage of transportation between states. “The sector can improve only if economy stabilised early December,” Mr. Rao said.
