Bird flu in India: profits override public health concerns
Date : 2006-03-04, By Parwini Zora – World Socialist Web Site

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India’s poultry giants are making concerted efforts to minimise the risks. Reports of bird flu sent Indian poultry sales plunging by 80-90 percent and halted exports to neighbouring countries, the Middle East and Japan. This triggered share price falls of up to 15 percent for the major poultry producers, Venky’s India and SKM Egg Products. Major tourism stocks—Asian Hotels, Oriental Hotels and Royal Orchid—also declined sharply.

India is the world’s second largest egg producer and the fifth largest broiler producer, with a rapidly growing industry worth an estimated $6.7 billion. About 60 percent of the 490 million poultry farms belong to the commercial sector and the rest are small backyard producers, on which 3 million livelihoods depend.

While the poultry giants are losing lucrative export deals, small farmers face the extermination of their livestock with little or no compensation as a result of rash and ill-managed quarantine measures imposed by state authorities that lack trained staff and sophisticated equipment. According to some news reports, the Maharashtra government has promised to pay $1 per slaughtered chicken, which distressed farmers say will not even compensate for half their expenses.