In the past, the poultry capital used to fulfill demand of the Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara -- two largest markets in the country - along with the local demand. [break]But the district has been importing chicken for the last couple of months to fulfill local demand that stands at around 10 tons per day.
Local entrepreneurs said poultry production in the district has been going down sharply because farmers are reducing the number of chicks in their farms due sharp drop in chicken prices a few months back.
Deepak Pandey, a chicken wholesaler in Belchowk of Narayanghat, has been sourcing chicken from Nuwakot - about 200 km east of Chitwan - after local farmers started reducing supplies. “We have to source chicken from other emerging poultry districts because local production cannot meet the market demand,” added Pandey.
Tikaram Pokharel, former president of Nepal Poultry Entrepreneurs´ Forum (NPEF), echoed Pandey and said local productions can meet only 50 percent of the market demand. “Chitwan was producing around 30 tons of chicken per day until mid-April. However, production has dropped sharply these days,” he added.
According to Pokharel, emerging poultry producing like Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Nuwakot, Dhading and even Darchula and Dadeldhura in the far west are supplying broiler chicken to Chitwan.
He said drop in price of live chicken discouraged farmers from rearing new batch of chicks in mid-April which ultimately led to sharp drop in production. Price of live chicken had dropped to Rs 100 per kg in mid-April. Price of live chicken at present hovers around Rs 160 per kg.
Pokharel, however, informed that farmers are gradually increasing the number of chicks in their farms. “We are hopeful that supply deficit will end by the end of August,” he added.
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