Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Mar 15: The price of chicken usually stays normal during the summer months. However, this summer, the chicken meat prices have soared and become out of reach for the poor.

Chicken, which was traded at a price below Rs 200 per kg till a few days ago, has suddenly skyrocketed and reached almost Rs 300. The chicken lovers are finding this escalation in prices hard to digest.

It is said that shortage of poultry birds has led to this price rise. Further, the dwindling number of chicken farms is reflecting on the price with the gap widening between the demand and supply. At the same time, chicken production also generally comes down during the summer months. Meanwhile, the chicken feed, seeds, bran, maize and other food items used in the farms have registered a price increase by 25 to 35 percent and the transportation charges too have gone up. These factors have added to the steep price rise of chicken meat.

Further, during the last two years, the annual fares were not held because of the pandemic. Now large scale festivals and fairs are being held. In most of these festivals, the people prepare non-vegetarian food and therefore meat is in high demand. As a result, the chicken which was available for Rs 150 to 180 a kilogram is now being sold between Rs 250 and Rs 280 per kg. The mutton price also has gone up to Rs 600-650 per kg. People therefore have started buying less quantities of meat because of the price rise.