In view of continuing stress in India’s poultry sector, driven by higher soyameal prices / animal feed prices and heatwave in key production markets – All India Poultry Breeders’ Association (AIPBA) has decided to reduce broiler chick production by 25 per cent with immediate effect amidst an expected, traditional decline in demand during the festival period of July-October.
A decision in this regard was taken at a recent meeting chaired by AIPBA Chairman Bahadur Ali, which discussed the severe crisis facing the poultry sector due to the sharp increase in soybean meal and consequent increase in animal feed prices.
The meeting noted that soybean meal prices have risen more than 40 per cent over the past month, significantly increasing feed costs and putting immense pressure on poultry producers across the country coupled with higher mortalities due to ongoing heatwave in key parts of broiler production areas.
“Considering the steep rise in production costs, along with the traditional decline in chicken consumption during the months of July, August, September and October due to festivals such as Sawan, Navratri and Durga Puja, the industry has decided to reduce poultry production by 25 per cent with immediate effect,” the association said in a statement. Following is a summary of Current Crisis in Poultry Industry of India:
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Feed Crisis: The drastic intervention is a direct response to a massive economic squeeze. Soymeal feed prices—a non-negotiable component of avian nutrition and health formulation—surged by more than 40% over the last 30 days. This cost spike completely eroded the margins of commercial poultry operators.
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Parent Stock Liquidation: To aggressively curb excess supply ahead of the traditional July–October festival demand dip (during Sawan and Navratri), commercial hatcheries have commenced a rapid culling of parent breeder stocks. In a bid to urgently downsize national flocks, breeder birds previously valued at ₹140 per bird are being liquidated at ₹65 per bird.
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The Clinical Call: Concurrently, industry leaders from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Task Force on Animal & Agriculture have urged the central government to initiate immediate feed price stabilization measures and open up sovereign grain import lines to protect smallholder poultry infrastructure from broader insolvency.
