Indian poultry rises to record prices

Rising feed prices have seen the cost of broiler meat in India rise to record prices of Rs 100 per kg.

The surge has come in handy for the poultry sector that had been battered by a glut in supply and sporadic incidents of bird flu during the second half of 2012, The Hindu Business Line reports.

R. Lakshmanan, President, Broiler Coordination Committee (BCC), told Business Line that most of the poultry farm owners had operated on a negative margin last year after maize prices rose 25% and soyameal prices more than doubled.

“Last year, prices were very low and we saw input costs almost doubling. But, prices did not increase at the same pace. And now, with the consumption picking up, prices too are scaling up,” Lakshmanan said.

The poultry sector consumes 52% of the total maize produced in the country and any monsoon vagary tends to hit the profitability of poultry sector – especially broiler farms that are sensitive to feed price fluctuations.

Industry sources are upbeat about the prospects of the Rs 47,000-crore poultry sector that has been growing at 8-10% annually. Rating agency ICRA, in its recent report, expected domestic broiler meat demand to grow by 8-10% in the long-term. Similarly, table egg demand is predicted to grow by 4-5% on the back of increasing urbanisation.