Rumours bring down sale of chicken in city

The rumours began surfacing on messaging apps and social media platforms within a few days of the outbreak of coronavirus in China. “For the last two months, the sale has gone down after rumours started spreading across the state. There is no issue with the chicken, but some customers are not willing to buy it for now. Earlier, we used to supply over 3,000 hens in the city. Now supplying even 1,000 hens has become difficult. Our income has come down to 70 per cent in the last one month,” said Abdul Rafeeq, who runs a poultry farm in Krishnagiri.

“Last time the business got affected was when avian flu struck other states 10 years ago. But it was not that worse compared to this time. Even hotels are not willing to purchase now. Those who used to buy 100 hens every day are now buying only 20 to 30 hens daily,” he added.

The vendors at chicken stalls claim they are forced to sell chicken at a low cost. “The sale had started coming down last month. We have not seen a drop in business in the last eight years, but now it has come down by 50 per cent and we had to reduce the prices. Chicken sold for Rs 250 per kg earlier is now being sold for Rs 160 per kg,” said Madheen M, runs a chicken stall at Washermenpet.

Vendors said the public has started purchasing mutton more than usual, but the prices remain the same. “Customers who used to buy chicken twice or thrice a week are now buying only once a week. But there are a few customers who switched over to mutton in the last 10 days. The fast-food shops nearby, however, have not stopped buying chicken,” said Ajaaz H, a vendor at Royapuram.