National Chicken Sellers Association (NCSA) decided to increase the price of both live and dressed chicken with effect from Tuesday. Before the fresh price hike, chicken was selling at Rs 285 per kg. [break]
Similarly, price of live chicken has been increased by Rs 10 per kg to Rs 220 per kg. Farmers, however, get Rs 210 per kg for live chicken.
“Demand for chicken has gone down by only 10 percent whereas production has gone down by more than 30 percent due to bird-flu outbreak,” Junga Bahadur BC, president of NCSA, said. “We had to increase the price because there is shortage of chicken in the Kathmandu Valley.”
Daily demand for chicken in the Valley hovers around 225,000 kg, according to NCSA. On normal days, the demand stands at 250,000 kg.
According to Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH), H5N1 virus has been spreading rapidly in poultry farms in the Valley and adjoining districts. Four outbreaks of bird-flu were recorded in the Valley this week alone, forcing officials to cull over 12,000 chickens.
In the last one-and-half months, seven outbreaks have been recorded in Kathmandu alone. Rapid response teams destroyed thousands of chickens in Dhading, Nuwakot, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts during the period.
Narayan Hari Khatri, first vice president of Nepal Poultry Federation, echoed BC and said poultry traders were facing difficulty in meeting the demand due to drop in production by around 35 percent. “We even mulled over importing chicken. But as that would make imported chicken dearer by Rs 30-40 per kg compared to local market, we decided to go for price rise instead,” said Khatri.
Poultry traders in the Valley source chicken from Dhading, Kavre, Nuwakot and Chitwan districts as well as local farms.
As outbreaks have been recorded in these districts, traders are facing difficulty in meeting demand. Besides, the Bird Flu Control Order 2007 prohibits farmers from rearing chicken for three months in farms where bird-flu have been confirmed.
“Farmers have to suffer huge loss due to bird-flu outbreaks. This is why around 25-30 percent of farmers have switched to other professions,” added Khatri.
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