Rice Prices: Consumers feel the pinch of rising rice and chicken prices

Consumers are feeling the pinch of rising chicken and rice prices. Chicken prices have touched five year high this summer as unusual heatwave has killed a good volume of chicks and the poultry feed prices have skyrocketed by more than 80 per cent due to the absence of corn supply from Ukraine. The retail prices of chicken this summer is 33 per cent higher than last year and has doubled from five years ago.

Prices of chicken will cool off in October-November when harvesting of soyabean, a key ingredient for animal feed, starts. At present, chicken is commanding a price of Rs 240 per kg.

Rice prices, which had cooled off a bit, have again shot up by 9 per cent in the last two weeks as the news spread that Bangladesh will import rice to meet its domestic demand and will buy it from private traders.

Talking to ET, Vasanthkumar Setty, president, Poultry Farmers and Breeders Association, Maharashtra said “At the farmgate level chicken is being at Rs 120 per kg, which was the price at the retail end five years ago during the summer months. This time the heatwave has resulted in death of chicks which is why the volume has come down pushing up prices further.”

Annual production of poultry meat in the country is 4.3-4.5 million tonnes and the industry aims to raise it to 6.3 million tonnes by 2023.

Setty said that the situation will improve once the kharif soyabean crops start arriving from where soyameal will be prepared for animal feed. Added Jaspreet Singh, owner of Bhatinda based Ranjit Poultry Farm “Prices will slowly start falling from July, when monsoon picks up in the country. Rural India engages itself in sowing and other farming activities thus reducing the consumption demand.”

Prices of non-basmati rice, the major staple of the country, had cooled off a bit as the summer rice crop had started arriving in the market. But the news that neighbouring Bangladesh will allow private traders to import rice as domestic prices have jumped more than 5% in a week despite good crops and reserves has impacted the Indian non-basmati rice prices.

“Traditionally the world’s third-biggest rice producer, Bangladesh often imports the grain to ease shortages after floods and droughts. And, they generally buy from West Bengal, the largest producer of the grain because of the proximity. Bangladesh is also reeling under inflationary pressure and the country is mulling to import rice. This news has pushed up Indian non-basmati rice ny 9 per cent in last one week,” said Suraj Agarwal, CEO, Tirupati Agri Trade.