Indian poultry sales drop on coronavirus rumours

Bloomberg

Indian poultry sales have been plunging on rumours spread by social media claiming that chickens are linked to the coronavirus, according to the country’s top animal feed company.
Industry-wide weekly sales have plummeted at least 47% in the past three to four weeks, while prices have slumped almost 60%, said BS Yadav, managing director of Godrej Agrovet Ltd.
“The damage is so severe that whatever we have done in the past seven months will be wiped out if the decline in sales continues for the next one to two months,” Yadav said. “
Much is still not known about the virus that’s spreading around the world after emerging in central China late last year. It’s thought to have transferred to humans from bats and has been shown to spread in a number of ways, but no conclusive evidence has emerged on how or whether the disease can be transmitted across species.
India’s $14 billion poultry industry provides direct and indirect employment to 5 million people and supports more than 25 million farmers. With an annual production of 67,000 million eggs, India ranks second in the world.
“Surplus is building,” Yadav said, adding that the birds will be sold at lower prices. “Integrated companies and farmers are losing money because of rumors about the coronavirus, which has nothing to do with chickens.”