BENGALURU, 1 APRIL

The residents of Bengaluru are seeing price swings in poultry items. While the prices of eggs have dropped, the chicken prices have drastically increased in the City.

This price disparity highlights the complexities of the poultry industry, where factors like feed costs and seasonal fluctuations can have localised effects. The main reason for the chicken prices to increase is the ongoing drought plaguing Karnataka.

Lakshmanan S, a member of Broiler Coordination Committee of Palladam in Tamil Nadu, told Salar News "The drought has severely impacted the harvesting of soya and corn, key ingredients in chicken feed. This shortage has pushed the prices to increase not only in Mangaluru, but also in other districts of Karnataka.”

Palladam Broiler Rate is the benchmark in Indian poultry industry and the broiler rates are fixed by Broiler Coordination Committee.

Broiler chicken with skin, which was costing Rs 175 in the third week of March, is now priced at Rs 235-240 per kg and the skinless chicken, which was Rs 215 per kg, now cost Rs 265-270 per kg. The summer season complicated matters. "The scorching sun and water scarcity have forced 20-25% of poultry farms in the State to shut down," Lakshmanan said.

Egg prices come down

Unlike chicken, egg prices in Bengaluru have witnessed a surprising dip. Wholesale prices have dropped from Rs 6.50 to Rs 4.80 within one week. PV Senthil, the General Secretary of Livestock and Agri-farmers Trade Association and an exporter in Kaveri Group of Companies, told Salar News “This price decline can be due to two factors. The summer has reduced the shell life of eggs and traders don’t want to keep the stocks for a long. Another reason is the natural dip in egg production as hens lay fewer eggs in the scorching summer months.”