Bird flu threatens poultry industry again, mainly in northern regions | Chicken prices | Eggs | Senassa | Economy

President Northern Egg Producers Association (Aprohnor)José Luis Neira commented that this New outbreak of bird flu mainly affects an 80,000-hen commercial layer farm He has now lost most of his pigeons. The other two cases occurred at two locations where backyard activities were taking place, namely raising chickens on the property.

“The concern is because there have been three cases of influenza. One farm has been affected and if not controlled this could quickly spread to other farms as we have people working in the backyard and working on different farms.they may carry the disease“,explain manage.

He said that although commercial farms had been vaccinating against bird flu since last year, the vaccine was not completely effective, especially given the conditions the birds were currently facing.

“Most of our poultry farmers are vaccinated, but this does not mean that the vaccine provides 100% protection, because considering the stress that the poultry undergoes due to high temperatures, its defenses are reduced and it may be susceptible to any virus and any disease .

“he explained.

Also read: Egg prices rise to S$9 per kilogram this month: factors behind it.

representative Southern Poultry Growers Association (Avisur) and Peruvian Egg Producers Association (AprohPerú)Alex Jerí pointed out that backyard owners with nearly 15 million chickens are not vaccinating their chickens because they lack the financial means to comply with the vaccination requirements authorized by Senasa.

“An average farm is required to do a PCR test with five samples, which costs more or less between S$1,400 and S$1,500 at the laboratory. If the result is negative, you can show your documents to Senasa and be vaccinated. This is on a regular farm, but what about the backyard?They can’t afford it, so they just don’t get vaccinated“, hold.

Businessmen in the poultry industry confirmed they have been asking Senasa to authorize the vaccination of backyard birds to control the virus. Jerry insists that, according to experts, vaccinations should be carried out holistically to prevent any setbacks. However, Senasa has not accepted this request and as of the end of this note, the organization has not provided any defense in this regard.

Although the current case Avian Influenza Jerí pointed out that this situation only occurs in the north, and producers fear that it will spread to the south and affect Chincha, which accounts for 60% of the country’s egg production.

“Unfortunately, there is no insurance in Peru against such illnesses. No insurance would make such an assumption. Then there was a total loss of capital and hundreds of people lost their jobs.“, he added.

As you remember, last year poultry industry The bird flu attack caused the farm to lose 500,000 laying hens and 500,000 breeder chickens. In 2023, the livestock industry contracted by 0.9%, with poultry declining by 1.4%.

This has caused chicken prices to rise to more than 13 yuan per kilogram, while egg prices have exceeded 9 yuan per kilogram, according to the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation (Midagri).The current price is In Lima and in most areas the weight of birds reaches about 12 S/kg, while the weight of eggs again reaches about 9 S/kg. The capital, and even more than S/10 in regions such as Amazonas, Apurimac, Cajamarca, Pasco and Puno.

Can the price go up further?

While chicken and egg prices rose for much of last year due to bird flu, in the first few months of 2024 the price increases were linked to high temperatures.

Representatives of Avisur and Aprohnor agreed that Egg production Decreases can range up to 20% (depending on the farm) as heat stress causes weight loss, increased production and increased mortality in poultry.

“The current (bird flu) problem cannot be blamed on rising egg prices Because the large farm population has not yet been affected” Nela added.

He said egg prices are still 15% above pre-pandemic levels and the industry has faced continued blows since input costs increased and until now, product shortages due to bird flu.