Anantapur: Poultry industry worst hit due to rumors on coronavirus

Anantapur: The poultry farmers and retail outlet workers of chicken shops have become a casualty to the unjust boycott by chicken consumers by connecting chicken meat with coronavirus, covid-19.

Poultry farmers are being punished by consumers while goat and sheep meat farmers and retail mutton shops are selling meat as usual unaffected by the corona rumours. Whenever a virus hits the food industry it is the poultry industry that bears the brunt first. The poultry farmers who invested huge amounts of money by taking bank loans are the worst affected.

There are 10 major poultry farms and scores of medium level farms in the district which are the worst hit. "It all started with rumours in whats app that chicken are the suspected birds transmitting the corona virus, says a retail chicken shop owner Ramana Reddy on the Benguluru Road in the town. He said that three workers are engaged in dressing chicken in his shop and they were asked not to come work temporarily due to lack of sales. I am hardly selling 50 kg a day now against 150-200 kgs of chicken earlier.

Moreover, chicken which was sold at Rs.130 per kg is now being sold at Rs.50 per kg. In many shops in the old town 3 kgs of chicken is being sold for just Rs.100. If chicken is not fit for consumption, it should be totally boycotted but buying at a throw away price does not justify its consumption, says Kulayappa, a worker. There are over 500 chicken shops in the city with 2-3 workers. Approximately 1.50 lakh chicken shop workers lost their livelihood temporarily.

Poultry farmers who established large farms and invested Rs.1 crore or more by borrowing loans from banks are facing heavy losses.

Rambhoopal Reddy, a poultry farmer invested more than Rs.1.crore on his poultry farm in Pamidi. Expenditure on fodder, health of the birds and workers wages all comes to about Rs.50,000 per day for his farm with a bird population of 22,000.

Due to coronavirus threat, his daily income has come down to Rs 20,000. Rambhoopal Reddy told 'The Hans India' that the state government should take a policy decision to buy eggs and chicken from the poultry farms directly for meeting the requirements of midday-meal scheme, residential schools, SC,ST,BC and Minority hostels apart from government colleges and universities as a kind gesture to the industry.