Chicken Sales In India Fall 50% Over False Coronavirus Rumours

"A lot of misleading posts on social media, especially on WhatsApp, have created a false impression that humans can contract the coronavirus through chickens," BS Yadav, Managing Director, Godrej Agrovet Ltd said on Thursday, February 27.

Yadav added that the sales have fallen to around 40 million birds a week from 75 million about four weeks ago.

Furthermore, the slash in prices have hurt farmers too. From the previous ₹80-85 per bird, farmers are now getting ₹30-35. Yadav added that some farmers have started to cut production as they cannot afford animal feed and other costs pertaining to a large poultry farm.

In addition to Godrej Agrovet Ltd, other Indian poultry firms like Venky's have also cited social media rumours for a fall in poultry-related sales.

Meanwhile, due to the coronavirus scare, the Sensex fell over 1,500 points to 38,227.

Across the world, the death toll from the novel coronavirus crossed 2,800, and the number of cases reached above 83,000. In China, 2,788 people have died from the virus and nearly 79,000 infected.

On Friday, South Korea reported 256 new cases of the virus, taking its total to 2,022 - the largest outside China. The death toll from the virus stands at 13.