Poultry traders say they are planning to hike the prices as the consumption has started rising. They had slashed the prices to clear their stock due to the low demand as most of the people left the valley and hotels and restaurants remained closed.

“Poultry farmers are now in a troubled condition which will be reflected in the prices in the days to come. Around 200,000 -300,000 chicks are being buried every day as the farmers are not been able to feed them,” said Guna Chandra Bista, president of Poultry Federation of Nepal.

He said the poultry industry faced huge losses. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 147,222 chickens died due to the quake. Many farmers are selling chicks at low rates as they have not been able to give proper care to them.

“Some farmers are selling chicks at Rs5-10, against Rs80 during normal time,” said Bista.

Farmers of Kavre, Dhading and Nuwakot districts are the hardest hit. These districts contribute 20 percent of the total sales in the Kathmandu valley, according to the association. Bista said it will take at least six months for the recovery of the industry.

Meanwhile, chicken meat that dropped to Rs200 per kg last week, jumped to Rs230 per kg this week. However, egg producers, who had slashed the prices to 220 per crate from Rs310 per crate, said this price would remain for some days.

“As the earthquake has affected people’s lives, farmers are not in a condition to feed for their birds. So they are selling at very low prices. But we are planning to raise the prices after some

days as consumption has started rising,” said Shiva Ram KC, president of Egg Producers Association of Nepal.  

Shreeya Dhakal, vice-president of Nepal Chicken Sellers Association said: “We had slashed the prices of chicken so that people would consume more. And, they have started to consume more. So the price could go up in some days.”