With this hike, the price of live broiler chicken went up to Rs 165 per kg whereas the price of dressed chicken shot to Rs 235 per kg. Farmers will get Rs 155 per kg for live chicken.
Chicken prices had touched an all time high of Rs 250 per kg in June, due to sharp decline in poultry farming after the first case of bird-flu was confirmed in the country in January. Chicken price had dipped to Rs 170 per kg immediately after government confirmed the first case of avian influenza in Nepal.
The poultry farmers lowered chicken prices on June 10, following the decline in demands.
“We are compelled to increase the price of chicken as the prices of almost all the inputs, including chicks and feeds, have gone up sharply over the past few months. Moreover, poultry production has also declined, leading to supply deficit in the market,” said Janga Bahadur BC, general secretary, National Chicken Sellers´ Association.
Poultry entrepreneurs said the production of chicken had nosedived by around 30 percent as compared to normal period. Soaring demands for chicken have also driven up the price.
Entrepreneurs said supply of live broiler chicken nosedived to 160,000 kg per day against the demand of around 205,000 kg per day, as farmers raised lower number of chicken during the past months.
The other factor that led to the increase in chicken price is the rise in the price of chicks. According to poultry farmers, the price of layers chicks increased to Rs 42 per head from Rs 38.
According to Nepal Poultry Entrepreneurs´ Forum, an umbrella organization of poultry producers, around 56.1 million broiler live chickens are produced every year. Likewise, the annual egg production stands at around 714.6 million units. Poultry farmers produce around 58,000 tons of chicken every year.
There are over 2,500 poultry farms (small and big) throughout the country. More than Rs 16 billion has been invested in poultry business.
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