Prices of chicken, eggs dip in city

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.03.2020

The price of chicken and eggs have plunged in the city owing to fears of viral infection.

Chicken, which was earlier being sold at ₹150 to ₹200 is now being sold at ₹80. Eggs are being sold at ₹1.9 - ₹2.4 apiece from ₹4.5- ₹5. Poultry traders and shopowners said that they have seen a drastic decline in the number of customers since last week.

“We used to supply at least 1,000 chickens a day, but since the last one week we are hardly selling about 250,” said C Dhivakar, manager of DGR country chicken farm at Medavakkam. Divakar said that they used to sell a kilo of broiler chicken at ₹150 - ₹170, but are now selling it at less than ₹120. “Nobody is buying them,” he said.

Jaffer Ali from Rizwan chicken and mutton stall in Anna Nagar said people are now preferring mutton over chicken. “Since the news of Coronavirus came out, we have seen a decline in customers. Since the last week, getting even three customers a day has become difficult,” he said. His stall used to sell one kilo of broiler chicken at ₹180, but since the last two weeks, they are selling it at ₹80. “We have to clear sales, but nobody wants to buy them, fearing the virus,” he said.

T. Suguna from RTC egg centre in Navalur said that people are also buying more brown eggs than white ones. “We are now selling over ten trays of brown eggs a day, and each tray consists of 30 eggs. But we have not been able to sell many white eggs,” she said.

Several vendors said that though the demand is down, shops, fast food stalls and restaurants continue to buy both eggs and chicken.