Kathmandu. The price of poultry products has increased with the spread of bird flu coming under control. The prices of eggs, meat and chicken have started returning to normal.

Nepal Layers Poultry Farmers’ Association has increased the support price of eggs. The price has been increased on the basis of the rate of the farms. According to Association President Binod Pokharel, the price has been increased by Rs 30 per crate. The price of big egg has been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 530 per crater, medium egg from Rs 470 to Rs 500 and small egg from Rs 2,900 to Rs 3,000 per crater. Excel eggs have gone up from Rs 515 to Rs 545.

Pokharel said that the support price of eggs has been increased due to increase in consumption and decrease in production with the control of bird flu.

Due to bird flu, the price of a big egg dropped to Rs 450 per crate. The price had come down from Rs 565 per crate after the outbreak of the disease. The cost of eggs is Rs 19.12 per egg. In this way, the farmers get the cost price only when they get Rs 573.60 per crate. According to him, farmers have suffered huge losses due to bird flu.

According to him, about 10 lakh layer chickens have died due to bird flu and H9. The daily production has decreased from 43 lakh to 28 lakh from mid-April. According to him, there has been a huge loss due to the decrease in egg production of around 15 lakh eggs per day.

Similarly, the price of chicken and chicken has also increased. The price of broiler chicks has gone up to Rs 70 per kg. The industrialists who destroyed three hatches due to the disease had sold the pieces for Rs 15. The hatchery produces two hatch chicks a week. According to Rajendra Lamichhane, central president of Hatchery Industries Association of Nepal, the cost of broiler chicks is Rs 65 per egg. Similarly, the cost of layered chicks is Rs 125 per piece and now it is being sold at Rs 150 in the market. In a week, broiler chicks produce 28 to 30 lakh and layer chicks produce 100,000 chicks. Before bird flu, broiler chicks were produced between 40 and 45 lakh a week.

The daily sale of chicken has dropped to five million kg due to the pandemic. It has now increased to seven lakh kilograms per day. Farmers used to sell live broiler chicken at Rs 260 per kg which had come down to Rs 150. Now it has increased to Rs 215, according to Lamichhane. He said that the damage caused by the disease is being worked out and billions have been lost.

According to the Department of Livestock Services, no bird flu infection has been reported since July 1. Lately, the infection was reported at Sundari Jal in Gokaneshwor-1 of Kathmandu. According to the data provided by the Department, the disease was confirmed in the PCR method at the Central Livestock Disease Investigation Laboratory on March 4. With this, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on March 6 had declared the bird flu affected area. Bird flu was first detected in Urlabari-8 and Sundarharaicha-4 of Morang.

A total of 835,563 birds were destroyed in the country, said senior veterinary doctor at the Department, Dr Mukul Upadhyaya. A total of 1,165,663 eggs and 245,035 kilograms of feed were destroyed. A total of 367,835 birds were destroyed in the Kathmandu Valley and in Kavre alone.