Kerala’s Small-scale Poultry Farmers Facing Crisis….

INDIA – Small-scale poultry farmers in the state of Kerala are facing anxious times following the indefinite strike called by the coordination committee of poultry farmers and wholesale dealers from Thursday.
According to The New Indian Express, the strike has been called by the poultry farmers and traders across the State under the banner the All-Kerala Poultry Federation in protest against the increased floor prices for chicken. The retailers in the state are staying away from the strike since many of them have stocked chicken.
Meanwhile, the Joint Association of Kerala State Poultry Farmers representatives on Thursday told a press conference that they will stay away from the strike. They alleged that the strike is to savet the vested interests of a number of large broiler enterprises and lobbies of other states.
“The large broiler chicken enterprises are aiming to destroy the market of small-scale poultry farmers in the state. The government should take back the increased floor prices for chicken while keeping the advance tax. This will control the flow of chicken from other states and thereby increase the market of poultry farmers in the state. But the advance tax on chicken from other states must be removed,” said Baiju Kadavan, the chairman of the Joint Association.
The Kerala Commercial Taxes Department has decided to increase the base price of chicken from the existing Rs.70 to Rs.95 w.e.f Thursday.
The base price of chicks will also shoot up to Rs.35 from Rs.24.
The advance tax collected for bringing chicken and chicks from other states is 14.5% of the base price, The New Indian Express reports.
As a result, the chicken dealers of the state will have to pay additional Rs.10 per kg to the suppliers.
The lion’s share of the state’s requirements is met by the supply from Tamil Nadu as the poultry production from the state is just 90,000 tonnes per year against an annual requirement of near about 2.4 lakh tonnes.
“The Kerala State Poultry Development Corporation (KEPCO) is not taking a stand to support the poultry farmers in the state. This move to increase floor price was to help the big lobbies which brought chicken to Kerala from the other states,” said Pattom Sasidharan, president of the Kerala State Poultry Farmers Welfare Association.
“The poultry industry has to suffer paying tax for a single product various times. The government should assign an Assembly panel to study this and find a permanent solution,” he added further.