Kathmandu: Two hundred and thirty-six hatcheries in the country have shuttered following the Covid-19 pandemic, as reported by the Nepal Poultry Federation.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the closures were a consequence of hatched chicks failing to achieve even their production price after the pandemic hit. Tikaram Pokhrel, vice-president of the Federation, stated that there were initially 348 hatchery industries operating nationwide before Covid-19, but this number has dwindled to 120. Additionally, layer hatcheries have decreased from 14 to six.
Pokhrel indicated that prior to the pandemic, hatcheries were producing 5.5 million broiler chicks weekly, a figure that has since plummeted to 3 million. The production of layer chicks has similarly dropped from 250 thousand per week to 130 thousand.
According to Pokharel, the production costs range from Rs 55 to Rs 60 per broiler chick and Rs 120 to Rs 125 for layer chicks. Rajendra Lamichhane, central senior vice-president of the Nepal Hatchery Industry Association, added that hatcheries closed as they couldn’t even cover production costs for two years post-pandemic.
Recently, the price of broiler chicks has increased to Rs 70 to Rs 75 per chick, while layer chicks are priced between Rs 130 to Rs 150. Lamichhane noted that many hatcheries shut down due to prolonged periods of failing to meet production costs, and those still operating are reliant on additional bank loans.
The industry faces challenges such as high poultry feed and medicine costs, increased bank interest rates, low meat prices, the displacement of poultry farmers, and illegal chick imports from the Indian market.