Despite protracted power cuts and adverse industrial climate, the country's poultry sector is set to register an impressive growth of 24 per cent, recording turnover of over 41 billion rupees (NPR) during the current fiscal year 2010/11, shows a projection report.

According to My Republica, experts involved in the study attributed the whopping growth to double-digit rise in tourist arrivals, lesser incidents of traffic disruption, hassle-free imports of parent chicks as well as impressive rise in consumption.

"Given the comparatively favourable situation, we have projected a turnover of NPR41 billion, which accounts for over 3.4 per cent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," Dr Til Chandra Bhattarai, a member of the study team, said yesterday, 20 March.

Dr Bhattarai, who is also the former president of Nepal Poultry Entrepreneurs' Forum (NPEF) – an umbrella organization of poultry producers, said number of commercial broilers at farms across the country is expected to go up by 23 per cent to 57.8 million head by the end of the current fiscal year (ending mid-July). Similarly, the number of commercial layers has also been projected to go up by 24 per cent to 5.8 million heads.

"Production of broiler chicks has also been projected to surge by 60.8 million head by the end of the current fiscal year," said Bhattarai, who is also the managing director of Chitwan-based Pancha Ratna Group – one of the largest poultry producers in the country. Layers chick production too is expected to reach 6.19 million.

Broiler chicken production is estimated to rise by a whopping 29 per cent to 107,800 tonnes over the period.

"However, production of eggs is expected to go down to 1.11 billion pieces due to shortage of layers chicks," said Dr Bhattarai, who is also the president of World Poultry Science Association, Nepal.

Population of parent chicks of broiler to estimated to go up by 37 per cent to 804,000 heads. However, layers parent chick population is seen dropping by 5.7 per cent to 86,000 due to a drop in imports.

Production of feed is expected to rise by 11 per cent to 646,000 tons by the end of the current fiscal year.

"There has been huge fresh investment in big poultry farms in Hetauda, Bhairahawa and Itahari. This is one of the factors behind whopping growth in poultry turnover," Dr Bhattarai said, adding that total investment in the sector has crossed NPR24 billion.

He continued: "As we have sufficient infrastructures, this sector can expand easily provided that there is favorable business environment."

Guna Chandra Bista, a pioneer in Nepal's poultry sector, said feed industry is seeing encouraging investment due to impressive growth of poultry sector that is providing employment to more than 70,000 people across the country.

Poultry entrepreneurs, however, are sceptical about sustained growth of the sector given the persisting adverse industrial climate in the country, according to My Republica.

"Despite impressive growth in recent months and good prospects for the future, we're not in a comfortable situation. Protracted power cuts and deteriorating industrial climate are posing challenge to this sector," Mr Bista added.