Shortage in quality country chicken across AP, prices shoot up post avian flu
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a shortage in quality country chicken following the massive outbreak of avian influenza earlier this year. The flu deeply affected the poultry industry, pushing meat prices to record highs and disrupting the markets across the state.
This January, AP witnessed a widespread outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), affecting multiple districts. The outbreak led to deaths of over 5.4 lakh birds, causing heavy losses to poultry farms. Adding to the crisis, sudden infections among birds further worsened the situation, with lakhs of chickens dying and being buried in large pits to prevent the disease from spreading. Public fear peaked in April after a child reportedly died due to bird flu linked to poultry exposure.
The combined impact forced many poultry farmers to temporarily shut down operations. While production resumed in the recent weeks, the market is flooded with low-quality breeds, as most of the premium egg-laying and meat-producing chickens were wiped out during the outbreak.
This imbalance led to skyrocketing prices. In some regions, country chicken meat is now being sold for over 1,000 per kg.
"Earlier, we couldn't sell at 300/kg due to public fear.
Now, the same chickens are fetching 1,100/kg," said M Raghuram, a poultry farmer from Nuzvid.
To make matters worse, a viral social media campaign alleging excessive use of antibiotics in broiler chickens created public hesitancy. This fear is driving chicken lovers to prefer native breeds like Asil. While broiler chicken still sells for around ₹200/kg, people prefer buying country chicken at ₹1100/kg.
Experts said, it will take at least a year to stabilise the poultry sector.
"Some are bringing chicks from other states to rebuild flocks, but recovery will be slow," said M Kondala Rao, a poultry trader in Vijayawada.
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Shortage in quality country chicken across AP, prices shoot up post avian flu
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a shortage in quality country chicken following the massive outbreak of avian influenza earlier this year. The flu deeply affected the poultry industry, pushing meat prices to record highs and disrupting the markets across the state. This January, AP witnessed a widespread outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), affecting multiple districts. The outbreak led to deaths of over 5.4 lakh birds, causing heavy losses to poultry farms. Adding to the crisis, sudden infections among birds further worsened the situation, with lakhs of chickens dying and being buried in large pits to prevent the disease from spreading. Public fear peaked in April after a child reportedly died due to bird flu linked to poultry exposure. The combined impact forced many poultry farmers to temporarily shut down operations. While production resumed in the recent weeks, the market is flooded with low-quality breeds, as most of the premium egg-laying and meat-producing chickens were wiped out during the outbreak. This imbalance led to skyrocketing prices. In some regions, country chicken meat is now being sold for over 1,000 per kg. "Earlier, we couldn't sell at 300/kg due to public fear. Now, the same chickens are fetching 1,100/kg," said M Raghuram, a poultry farmer from Nuzvid. To make matters worse, a viral social media campaign alleging excessive use of antibiotics in broiler chickens created public hesitancy. This fear is driving chicken lovers to prefer native breeds like Asil. While broiler chicken still sells for around ₹200/kg, people prefer buying country chicken at ₹1100/kg. Experts said, it will take at least a year to stabilise the poultry sector. "Some are bringing chicks from other states to rebuild flocks, but recovery will be slow," said M Kondala Rao, a poultry trader in Vijayawada.
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