Bidar: The poultry industry here is suffering from a strange problem. Though the sale of chicken has gone up, prices have down drastically.

Long queues of buyers were seen in front of chicken stalls in Bidar on Thursday. The police intervened to control the crowd at the retail chicken market on Friday. Prices, however, have come down to Rs. 12 a kg of live bird and Rs. 16 a kg of meat.

"We believed that people were scared of eating chicken owing to bird flu and the prices were down. We have been proved wrong. There has been a 30 per cent increase in the sale of chicken in the past few days. Though the cost of production is around Rs. 28 a kg, we are forced to sell at lower prices as it is a question of our survival," says Hussein Qureshi, general secretary of the Mutton Market Merchants' Association.

Poultry merchant Syed Mujahid Patel says, "People are exploiting poultry farmers' helplessness. They know that cooked chicken is not harmful. They are making the best use of the crisis. However, most of the consumers are workers. We are selling at lower prices just to clear the stocks. This will not help us. We have to help the market stabilise by creating awareness among the people that poultry products are safe to consume."

Mohan Gada, a poultry farmer at Mamankera village, says that he is finding it difficult to maintain his poultry farm in the wake of the crisis. Retailers pay us only between Rs. 5 and Rs. 8 a kg. We cannot sustain if this continues for long." Veterinary University Dean K.S. Pratap Kumar says, "The fear of bird flu led to the crisis in the poultry industry. The sale of chicken dropped and the prices crashed after the outbreak of the disease. However, the sale of chicken is picking up. The prices stay where they are for some time. The market will take some time to stabilise." He expected a shortage of poultry products in the near future. Many poultry farmers have destroyed their stocks owing to bird flu. This means that the supply of poultry products will be affected across the country for the next six months. This may lead to hike in the prices of poultry products, he says.

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