The soaring prices of chicken are giving people the jitters. Thanks to high demand and low supply, there has been a drastic increase in prices this month.On Sunday, live chicken was priced between Rs. 115 and Rs. 125 a kg, whereas a month ago it hovered between Rs. 70 and Rs. 80.
With scores of weddings lined up this month and the first week of July, the escalating prices of chicken have dealt a body blow to people, forcing them to cut down the menu.
“One is forced to spend anywhere between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000 extra on chicken for a feast for 1,000 guests,” says Iqbal Siddiqui, a caterer.
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About 400 kg of chicken is required to prepare a single dish, while about 700 kg is needed for two varieties of dishes to serve 1,000 people, he adds.
The menu consists mostly of two varieties of chicken dishes, apart from mutton biryani and deserts.
“I hosted a dinner for 2,000 people, and owing to the rising prices of chicken decided to retain only two varieties of chicken against four. It also brought down the wastage, besides restraining the budget from exceeding,” says Niyamatullah Khan, who hosted the weddings of his two sons.
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Hotel owners are the worst hit due to price rise. “Leave alone profits, we are forced to spend excess money in order to retain our customer base,” Mohd. Irfan of Shah Ghouse hotel says.
Poultry farmers attribute the current situation to large-scale mortality of chickens during summer.
“There was large-scale death of chickens in many poultry farms due to high temperatures in summer, and also the chickens were of low weight,” says S. Balasubramaniam, general manager of Venkateshwara Hatcheries.
The only silver lining is that prices are expected to come down in July.