BENGALURU: After a lull in demand during the monsoon season, layer eggs and broiler chicken are hot in the market as Christmas and New Year’s Eve get closer. The increased demand has upped the prices, and poultry breeders and industrialists anticipate a further rise given the low maize and soya yield this harvesting season.
The kharif harvest of maize was low because of scanty and erratic rain.
Soya, another important component of bird feed, is also getting dearer after the crop was affected by scanty rain in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
According to the Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Breeders’ Association (KPFBA), 60% of the feed that is given to poultry birds is maize, 20% comprises soya, and the rest is a mixture of vitamins, vegetable oil, grains, sunflower extract and so on.
The farmers will begin to sow the crop in January and it will take 120 days before the harvest for us to get fresh produce. Moreover, this is an irrigated crop, not a rain-fed one. So the acreage is bound to be limited. The kharif harvest of maize is 27% lower than that in the previous year, and in just 25 days, prices have increased from Rs 2,100 per tonne to Rs 2,500.”
Poultry breeders will face major hurdles to production in February and March. We’ve hence requested the central government to consider importing maize. They’ve been positive in their response so far as their analysis of the situation reportedly matches with our understanding from the fields.
The price of soya has shot up from Rs 4,600 per tonne to Rs 4,800 in three days.
Breeders and industry players also worry the government’s push for using maize for ethanol production will make the crop even more scarce for the poultry industry. Rai said the starch and ethanol industries get the best-quality maize, leaving poultry with the leftover stock.
Bengaluru’s National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) also confirmed that the cost of raw materials is rising and so is demand, as many are moving from choosing vegetables to eggs because of the former’s inflationary nature.
Source – timesofindia
