Bird-hit industry seeks makeover

The news about bird flu II in Jalgaon couldn8217;t have come at a worse time.

The news about bird flu II in Jalgaon couldn8217;t have come at a worse time. For the Rs 34,000-crore poultry industry is still trying to bounce back after the government declared bird flu had landed in Navapur on February 18 and consumption of chicken and eggs hit rock-bottom across the country.

8216;8216;We had made some improvements over the last 10 days, but this will set us back further. We have taken a Rs 3,000-crore hit already,8217;8217; said Bharat Tandon, chairman, Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers8217; Association. Others like Anuradha Desai, chairperson of the Rs 1,300-crore Venkateshwara Hatcheries peg the losses at around Rs 5,000-crore and growing.

Whatever be the actual losses, industry insiders say this is the perfect time to focus on the 8216;8216;wet markets8217;8217;, the unhygienic, unregulated, non-mechanised source of 96 per cent of poultry. This is the sector that will need to pull up its socks by way of regulation and standardisation to meet post-hit market demands.

Though institutional sales were picking up8212;the defence services, railways and airlines had put chicken back on the menu8212;before Jalgaon, it is retail sales that prop up the industry. For the moment, the industry8217;s only tactic to win back consumer confidence is advertisements.

Associations like the National Egg Co-ordination Committee NECC have roped in filmstars to convey the chicken-is-safe message. A regular advertisement campaign by NECC in the print media is being used to convey the message that poultry products are safe to consume if properly cooked.

But, according to poultry industry consultant Amit Sachdeva, 8216;8216;For the consumer trust to revive, the government will need to create a food safety net. A 8216;Seal of Quality8217; will need to be the part and parcel of the marketing of the food products like chicken or eggs.8217;8217;

Apart from brands, industry insiders suggest formulation of guidelines that would require farmers to meet prescribed standards8212;relating to farm management, antibiotic-free status, transportation and slaughtering8212;if they wish to supply to the institutions and food service markets.

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India8217;s poultry industry has been growing at annual rates varying from eight to 15 per cent in the past few decades, making it the world8217;s fourth-largest producer of eggs and fifth-largest producer of chicken broilers. The industry employs over 5 million people.

In fact, there are good prospects of this sector to grow even faster as the per capita consumption is still only 44 eggs and about 1.76 kg poultry meat per year. This is far lower than the desirable level of 180 eggs and 11 kg poultry meat as recommended by the Nutritional Advisory Committee to the government.

This could well be the chance to modernise the industry that has been relying so long on unsafe practices, and could be a major boost for exports. India exports 50 lakh table eggs mostly to the Middle East, which are usually supplied by farmers, and 20 lakh kgs of egg powder to Japan and Europe.

8216;8216;While nobody is objecting to the egg powder, exports of table eggs have been hit because Dubai, one of our biggest buyers, has banned imports,8217;8217; said Desai.

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Poultry experts have been lobbying with the government to divide India8217;s poultry producers in zones.

WITH SONU JAIN