TVM: Going by market signs, Keralites have already set aside the avian flu scare and resumed their heavy chicken consumption.

Thanks to the free chicken food festival and other publicity programmes organised by the state government and poultry farmers, the retail prices of chicken, which had dipped to around Rs 65 per kg during the avian flu scare, rose to Rs 79 by Thursday.

By December 25, the price is expected to be around Rs 85- Rs 90 which is Rs 5 less than that during the last Christmas.

At the peak of the flu scare, the sales in Thiruvananthapuram district had dropped to a quarter of its original consumption of two lakh chickens per day.

“The hoteliers and caterers have started taking huge volumes of chicken and hence the prices are back to normal. However, the individual buyers are still slightly pessimistic.

By Christmas, the sale is sure to go up,” said Abdul Jabbar, secretary of Poultry Farmers and Traders Association of Kerala.

Interestingly, the avian flu never impacted the price of chicklings which was always around Rs 35.