Chicken prices cool off, margins stay scrambled

Chicken prices are no longer pecking feverishly at purses. A sharp fall in rates has led to a noticeable uptick in footfall at retail outlets, say traders.

“The prices were high during Ramzan, and especially around Eid (March 21). The rate for live chicken was ₹240 per kg. Today, it is ₹160 per kg,” said Mohammed Abdul Qayyum, who runs a chicken shop in First Lancer.

Boneless chicken, which had been bobbing between ₹580 and ₹600 per kg, is currently retailing at around ₹460, traders said. “It is true that we are seeing an increase in the number of customers at our shops. But this does not mean our margins have improved,” said Shaik Ahmed, another chicken shop owner, referring to the recent downing of shutters in protest against low margins and disputes with poultry farm owners. “We are seeing a good supply of chicken which is why the price seems to have reduced,” he added.

Others noted that despite this, the issue of better margins per kilogram continue to remain a problem. “While shops in the city are open, the problem of low margins, of ₹7 or ₹8 per kg, is still a problem,” Md Kaleem, a chicken shop owner from Devarakonda Basthi in Banjara Hills, said.