Prices of chicken have dipped as the avian flu scare has hit the capital, wholesalers at Ghazipur chicken mandi said.
Prices of chicken have dipped as the avian flu scare has hit the capital, wholesalers at Ghazipur chicken mandi said.
The Delhi government asked the poultry farms and wholesale markets on Wednesday to inform authorities if they found dead birds, after the death of 10 migratory birds at the local zoo sparked fears of bird flu outbreak in the city. As a precautionary measure, the Delhi zoo has been closed for three days.
If the threat of bird flu prolongs for another week, the prices may fall by over 50 per cent, Yaqoob Qureshi, who owns a wholesale shop at Ghanzipur mandi, said.
Another trader Ali Murtaza said he sold chicken for anything between Rs 120 and Rs 180 per kg in different markets of the city. Earlier this week, it sold for Rs 140 and Rs 200 per kg.
According to him, after the avian flu scare, he is selling 550 kg chicken a day against 700 kg earlier.
A wholesaler at Ghazipur said, “Bird flu scare has hit the market real bad and the prices of chicken are falling from Rs 80 per kg to Rs 74 per kg in the market.” As of now, he says, the situation is under control since he can stock the chicken in cold storage for some days.
Retail shopkeepers and restaurant owners too said that they have started facing the problems of stock pile up.
