U.P’s Eggs Transport norms scrambling Haryana Poultry Farmers, stock piling up at the farms
Poultry farmers in Haryana have asked the state government to intervene, fearing a hit to their business due to the UP government’s directive to transport eggs over long distances in refrigerated vans fitted with GPS devices.
Haryana is among India’s largest egg producers, but poultry farmers say the industry has had a bumpy ride since 2020, when the pandemic eroded their revenues. According to them, around 3 crore eggs are produced daily in Haryana, and UP is their largest market, with half of the daily produce going to distributors there.
The directions, issued in February, came into force from April 15. Unhappy with the decision, farmers in Haryana are hoping that the Haryana Government and the Centre will intervene in the matter.
Surinder Bhutani, general secretary, Central Haryana Poultry Farmers Association, said, “Uttar Pradesh is a major consumption point. The industry was already struggling due to various issues and now, the directive of the UP Government has increased the problems. We have raised the matter with the UP Government and the Centre.”
Gurdyal Sunhedi, president of Poultry Farmers’ Welfare Association, Kurukshetra, said, “As per the directions of the UP Government, the vehicles have to maintain temperature between 10°C and 15.5°C. Ironically, the temperature ranges between 30°C and 40°C in poultry farms. The eggs are sold in open markets and small kiosks with no facility of maintaining the temperature. We request the Haryana Government to effectively take up the matter with UP Government.”
Conditions for Egg Transportation in Uttar Pradesh
- Vehicles from other states or those covering a distance of more than 150 km must have refrigeration and GPS device.
- Temperature to be maintained at 10-15.5°C.
- Trays must have stickers with information about date of production, place and shelf life.
According to estimates by the Central Haryana Poultry Farmers Association, the state industry earns around Rs 7,000 crore on average every year and employs over 2.5 lakh people.
“The argument that refrigerated vans are required for quality control is not scientific. Poultry farms across India aren’t temperature controlled. Neither are retail stores and eateries,” S.P Singh, general manager (north) at Venky’s India. Haryana government officials said they were observing the situation. “It doesn’t appear that UP has banned any entry of vehicles carrying eggs from other states.
It has changed a few norms and that will apply to the players within UP as well,” a senior official of the animal husbandry department said.
UP government officials said there was no discrimination in the order and its sole purpose was to ensure quality. “We received complaints about the quality of eggs. So we held consultation with experts, officials from the food security department and farmers’ organizations. They suggested eggs should be transported in refrigerated vans over long distances. Any farmer from another state who feels this will impact their business can come to UP and set up their farms of cold storage. We will give subsidies,” said Indramani Chaudhary, director of the UP animal husbandry department.
