Chitwan, December 15
Nepal Hatchery Industries’ Association has urged all of its member enterprises to close their business for the next 10 days in its bid to put pressure on the government to increase the price of chicks.
The association’s chairperson Tika Ram Pokharel says the enterprises cannot generate costs from the price the government has fixed now. Pokharel informs that producing a chick would cost Rs 55 on average whereas its market price is less than Rs 30.
“Hence, we hope that this 10-day strike will do something better,” he says, “We want to show them what happens if we shut down.”
During the strike, the enterprises will stop producing chicks whereas they will also destroy the eggs waiting to be hatched. In the meantime, they will discuss the problem with concerned government and private agencies.
However, the strike will incur a loss of around Rs 330 million, according to him. The market will lose around 100,000 parent chickens.
There are more than 200 hatcheries in Nepal and more than 120 are in Chitwan district alone.
