Bird flu outbreak in Jharkhand: Chicken price stable, no plans to slash it, say dealers

RANCHI: The bird flu outbreak in the city and Bokaro failed to bring down the chicken prices in most markets here. However, poultry farmers are in a precarious position as they have to maintain the price to avoid incurring losses even as the takers for poultry meat are fast dwindling.
The farmers are still holding on to the hope that the consumers will brave the scare and buy chicken meat as there were no reported deaths in the poultry farms since the last week.
Talking to TOI, Rashid Nashim, a poultry meat seller at Hindpiri, said, “Our supply has been hampered by the flu fear and sales have reduced compared to the other festival seasons. We, however, have no plans to reduce the price as of now. We have to consider that chicken is the most popular and sought-after non-vegetarian cuisine and it is more affordable than mutton. The flu fears are unfounded and chicken roasted or cooked at normal temperatures will not infect anyone. Last week, no bird deaths have been reported in poultry farming.”
The farmers may refrain from importing their stock from other states but it could have an impact on the state’s overall supply.
Azad Ahmed, another poultry farmer, said, “The current price range for chicken in the market is between Rs 150 and Rs 450, and despite the fear of bird flu among the buyers, we have no plans to reduce the price. If we reduce it, we will have to face a negative impact and will not be able to make a profit as importing is expensive. Even if we import our stock from Odisha, there is a likelihood that the state’s demand could not be met. As we have already placed orders for Holi and if we reduce the price now, it will result in a significant loss for us.”
Other poultry dealers said though there is a decline in the demand, it is unlikely to impact the hotel industry as most restaurants and eateries will not reduce the price of poultry meat on their menu.
Rahul Sharma, the purchasing manager of the Capitol Residency Hotel, said, “The news of the bird flu outbreak has created fear among the general public, following which the demand for chicken products plummeted. But, we have no plans to reduce the price of chicken dishes despite non-veg customers shifting to mutton and fish throughout the festival season so far.”