June 3, Kathmandu - 300 broiler chickens in Devendra Pun, a poultry farmer of Baglung Municipality-3, has been out for 60 days. Weight has increased to four kilos. Previously, chickens had to be sold in 40-45 days. Now the chickens are stuck in the cage.

There is a situation where expensive grains have to be fed and reared. Pun's expenses have increased a lot. Chickens have not been sold due to the lockdown. Market, business is at a standstill. Meat consumption has decreased. At the same time, prices have fallen. "The price of live chicken has dropped from Rs 320 to Rs 230 per kg," said by Pun.

The price of meat, which had gone up by Rs 500 before the lockdown, has also come down to Rs 440 now. "There is a lot of cost in poultry farming. This time the cost will not go up. The farmers are incurring losses," said by Pun. Hotels and restaurants that consume a lot of meat are now closed. Meat is being sold only for domestic purposes. Some businesses have closed their meat shops. The market is open till 10 am for the purchase of food, vegetables, fish, meat and other daily necessities.

He said that the farmers who bought chickens for Rs. 135 were forced to sell live chickens in bulk at Rs. 200 per kg. Farmers are also facing more problems as grains have become more expensive. Grains costing Rs 3,400 should now be bought at Rs 3,600 more. If the chickens are not sold, the farmer's cost will increase day by day. Failure to sell on time affects the regular cycle of poultry farming.

According to the association, about 20,000 chickens enter Baglung every year at leisure. Chicks have not been imported yet. There are about 200 commercial poultry farmers in the district. Recently, along with broilers, commercial rearing of local breed chickens has also been increasing.