Ramadan Spurs Chicken Price Surge As Demand Peaks

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "New Delhi: With the onset of Ramadan, chicken prices are on the rise due to robust demand, exacerbated by rising temperatures and increased input costs affecting production. Agriculture experts said this trend may persist till April February, broiler chicken prices rose 10% due to limited supplies stemming from the outbreak of bird flu in Andhra Pradesh. Moreover, the escalating cost of feed further drove up prices, as maize prices soared by 20% from ₹22,000 per tonne to ₹26,500 per tonne over the past three months. This is attributed to the government's push on ethanol production to achieve the E20 target by 2025-26, amid declining sugar production, chicken prices rose from ₹100-110 a month ago to ₹106-130 per kg across key farm gates in tier-1 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, according to spot traders food inflation climbed from 8.3% in January to 8.66% in February, marking a 6% increase from the previous year, primarily driven by a sequential uptick in vegetable and meat prices. Specifically, poultry price inflation reached 5.7% last month, compared to (-) 4% a month earlier and 2.4% a year ago.“Rise in demand for broiler during Ramzan is expected to lead to a slight increase in prices in March and April,” said Pushan Sharma, director-research, Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics.“Spread of bird flu in the southern states remains a key monitorable.”Rising maize prices have resulted in an increase in poultry feed costs from ₹36,000 per tonne three months ago to ₹40,000-41,000 per tonne. This surge is linked to increased demand from starch mills and ethanol producers, driven by a shortfall in sugar production this year.
Conversely, soymeal prices are witnessing a contrasting trend. Over the past month, soybean meal prices remained steady, hovering at ₹39,000-40,000 per tonne across ex-solvent plants in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan demand for soymeal is primarily fulfilled by domestic production. Nevertheless, in 2021-22, India permitted the import of 1.2 million tonnes of genetically modified (GM) soymeal to support the poultry industry, after animal feed prices tripled to a record high feed consists of 30-35% protein sourced from soybean meal, groundnut extraction, and mustard de-oil cake. The remaining 60-65% serves as an energy source. Efforts are underway to bolster domestic production of maize, bajra, and broken rice to meet the needs of the poultry and starch industries.“However, with the government aiming to produce ethanol from maize instead of sugarcane, it may result in a shortfall in domestic supplies, affecting both the poultry and biofuel sectors' demand. India needs to allow imports of GM maize and focus on increasing domestic production as demand from poultry, the starch industry and biofuel sectors are rising steadily,” said Ricky Thaper, treasurer, Poultry Federation of India.“Any further increase in maize prices will push up feed costs, thereby increasing the cost of production of broiler chicken and egg,” he added sent to the departments of animal husbandry and dairy remained unanswered till press time to the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database, India ranked fifth in meat production worldwide, with production increasing 8-9% annually from 6.69 million tonnes in 2014-15 (April-March) to 9.77 million tonnes in 2022-2. Out of this, 4.99 million tonnes were poultry meat.
While India's poultry industry is one of the fastest-growing, it is primarily dominated by the wet market. A report by the Confederation of Indian Industry said the transition from live birds to fresh chilled and frozen poultry products, has been slow with processing levels currently at a mere 6% of total production. The aim is to increase production to 20-30% within a decade by enhancing genetic animal health and feeding practices.

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