After losing the case at the World Trade Organization (WTO), dumping of chicken legs by the US into Indian markets has become more imminent and the ₹50,000-crore domestic poultry industry proposes to approach the Centre seeking protection of its interests.
“There is no level playing field. We are planning to ask the government to either ban import of chicken produced by using genetically modified (GM) corn and soya as a feed or allow the import of GM feed (which is cheaper) to cut down our production costs,” said K Singaraj, President of the All India Poultry Export Association. Moreover, Poultry feed accounts for almost 30 percent of the total production cost for domestic farms and this makes it more expensive than the potential imports, says the industry reports.
What’s the Crisis?
The poultry industry is a better employment option in Indian markets. The livelihood of many families is attached to this industry. The rural poultry sector also has an important contribution in the Indian poultry industry. Any person can earn good profits from this industry, but a big crisis has come on this industry due to the possibility of American Chicken leg piece in Indian markets after India loosed the case to WTO. This has created a fear in the domestic poultry industry that if the doors for American chicken leg grinds are opened in the poultry markets, there will be a big crisis on the employment of about 20 million people in rural areas.
Poultry Farm Owners Wrote Letter to PM Modi
As per reports, the Poultry Federation of India has written a letter to PM Modi, in which it has described difficulties of farmers. He says that the domestic poultry industry is a major source of additional income of farmers. For this, they need help, so that they can flourish properly. Moreover, it says that chicken leg grinding is used less in the US, so the US wants to bring it to India which will cause great harm to the domestic poultry industry.
What will be the Consequences?
If India reduces any kind of import duty under US pressure, then the domestic poultry industry will have to bear a lot of suffering. At this time the government should take steps in the interest of marginal and small farmers. They believe that the poultry industry does not get any help from the government. In such a situation, if the government opens up imports, it will be unfair to the poultry industry. It has been written in the letter that there are more than 50 lakh poultry farms in the country and the employment of about 2 Crore people will be in danger.
Skyrocketed Prices of raw materials
The value of essential raw materials used in the poultry industry is also skyrocketing, due to which the entire business is running at a loss. The farmer is unable to repay his loan. Explain that the prices of maize, soybean, DOC, rice pieces, millet and many other substances used in poultry feed have increased significantly. This is the reason why small farmers are constantly running in losses. In such a situation, the government should take some effective steps to rescue them.
The industry is Seeking Center’s Help
In such a situation, the Poultry Industry needs financial help from the government. Apart from this, modern technology is also needed for making and processing broilers, layers, hatcheries, feeds related to this industry.
