Chicken price shoots up to Rs.240/kg

Low production coupled with extreme heat have resulted in chicken price escalating to Rs 240 a kg in Hyderabad markets since last few days. But the good news is that poultry federation expects the price to come back to normalcy in two weeks.

For the past few days, the chicken price was hovering between Rs 190 and Rs 200 a kg in the city markets and this was perhaps for the first time that the prices have surged to such highs in Hyderabad during the holy month of Ramzan.

Explaining the reasons, Telangana State Poultry Federation (TSPF) General Secretary, K Mohan Reddy said the bird production has come down to 1.30 crore from 1.78 crore a month in the State.Moreover, birds can only survive in temperatures of upto 36 or 38 degrees Celsius but the current temperatures in various parts of



the State are over 42 degrees Celsius, which has resulted in death of many birds, he said.

In addition to this, birds do not gain weight during summer as they tend to consume lot of water. In an effort to reduce the temperature and save birds, many farmers were setting-up water sprinklers and side curtains. Considering all these factors, many farms were shut down, as they were unable to bear the rising operational costs.

While the demand is high, at present the sector experts have said that the production has dipped, resulting in rise of prices.

“But this will not last long because in two weeks, the price will come down. With temperature decreasing, the birds will gain weight and the production will also increase,” said Reddy.