Mangaluru: Expensive chicken meat burns holes in consumers’ pockets!

Mangaluru: Following a drop in poultry production, the prices of poultry meat has risen sharply across the state, including Dakshina Kannada.

A kilogram of chicken meat commands a price of Rs 125 at the farm gate. In the retail markets has shot up to Rs 180 to 185 per kg. There has been a jump of Rs 50 to 55 in the past week alone.

The price rise has started to burn holes in the consumers’ pockets. Food items made with chicken meat have become expensive.

Expensive feed driving prices higher

The poultry industry has cited the higher input costs for the rise in prices. The prices of poultry feed have risen by at least 50 percent.

Dr. Sushanth Rai, president of Karnataka Poultry Farmers & Breeders Association (KPFBA) told Udayavani that the prices of corn and soy, which are mainly fed to the birds, have witnessed an upward trend. The farmers procured feed at around Rs 22 per kg 3 weeks ago, but now the same costs Rs 40, he said.

Similarly, the prices of medicines and other implements used in farming have also shot up considerably. Due to summer heat, the farmers can accommodate fewer chicks, he added.

The higher input costs have prompted the poultry farmers to cut production. A week ago the average production hovered around 1 lakh birds which have now dropped to 80 lakh birds, he added.