Chicken demand, price rise amid beef controversy: Assocham

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Chicken prices in many parts of the country have started rising and are expected to soar by 25-30 percent amid raging controversy over beef consumption in the country, industry body Assocham has said.

Rising per-capita incomes, growth in quick service restaurants are other key reasons for the growing demand and consumption of meat in India, it said where consumption is likely to go up by 35-40 percent.

"Poultry wholesale price index has also risen over 22 percent while that of beef and buffalo meat has declined about three percent between May 2014 and March 2017," as per the analysis by Assocham's Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

The production of poultry meat has been steadily growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 10-12 percent, while its consumption has been clocking a CAGR of 15-18 per cent during the course of past few years.

In contrast, between June 2013 and May 2014, there had been an increase in wholesale price levels of over 10 percent on beef and buffalo meat while that of poultry chicken has declined by about 9 percent.

Controversies related to beef and animal slaughter "have surely come as a blessing in disguise for poultry firms in states like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and other key regions", an Assocham spokesman said releasing the findings of the chamber's analysis.

"The Government needs to encourage poultry farmers to give them a level playing field against developed countries in terms of export/import market," the chamber suggested. "India also provides a huge opportunity for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in poultry especially in areas like breeding, medication, feedstock, vertical integration and processing, as such these areas should also be exploited," it recommended.

Assocham conducted a quick survey of about 100 poultry shops in these states where majority of the respondents said that the demand was picking up despite the onset of summer. Currently, there is about 15-20 percent rise in prices which might go up to 25 percent and beyond, more so owing to the on-going month of Ramzan,(the holy month for people of the Islamic faith), it said. Most of the respondents said that though both poultry demand and prices usually drop during summer, it was not so this year due to the beef controversy.