Bird flu scare: Price, demand for fish, mutton shoot up

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 15

With the decrease in the demand for poultry products such as eggs and chicken, prices and demand for fish and mutton have increased drastically.

Shopkeepers believe though there are no bird flu cases, there is apprehension among residents and the demand for poultry products has come to almost nil.

Talking to The Tribune, Amandeep Singh from Friends Chicken near Dugri said buyers had stopped purchasing eggs and chicken.

A tray of eggs that was selling at Rs 175 is now priced at Rs 130, despite that there are no takers. Similar is the case with chicken. Earlier, it was sold at Rs 280 per kg. Now, the prices are dropped to Rs 200. But nobody is keen to buy it due to the scare of bird flu. Though there are no bird flu cases in this part of the region, culling of chickens is going on unabated, rued Amandeep.

Another shopkeeper said ever since the bird flu scare had been increased, sales of fish and mutton have picked up.

“There is an increase of approximately Rs 100 each in mutton and fish prices and the demand has increased manifolds. In restaurants and hotels, hardly anyone orders chicken, instead people prefer fish and mutton due to scare of bird flu. There might be a few cases but if you eat properly cooked chicken, it will cause no harm,” said the shopkeeper.

Many chicken lovers feel that it is better to avoid poultry products and be safe for a few days till the bird flu comes to an end.