Poultry bounces back in demand

In a flip from the early part of the calendar year, when speculations were rife that consumption of poultry products might lead to the spread of coronavirus, consumers these days are embracing poultry to meet their nutritional requirement in the fight against the virus. Consequently, over the past few months, the sector has been witnessing an increase in domestic demand.

Estimates suggest that the industry had suffered losses to the tune of ₹20,000 crore, with a loss of around ₹15,000 crore in the broiler segment alone and the rest by egg producers. It is interesting to not that contrary to the trend, this year, the sector is doing well in the off season (i.e., the period between June till December).

“This seasonal demand pattern went haywire this year as the traditionally good season turned bad and the off-season has turned good. We have never seen a price rise like this in the off-season in the past 20 years,” notes Sushant Rai, President of the Karnataka Poultry Farmer Breeders Association. The factors contributing to the sector’s performance include scarcity of supply, high demand and consequently high prices of poultry. Data from National Egg Co-ordination Committee suggests that the wholesale egg prices rose by about 30% since early August.