"We are scared that traders in the north zone are trying to pull down the price by saying that export will be stopped," Delhi zone NECC Chairman Harish Juneja said in a letter to poultry farmers.

The government had on July 25 confirmed detection of bird flu cases in Manipur and said 1.5 lakh birds will be culled to check its spread.

"Since, the government takes immediate steps to control the effect of bird flu as soon as any such case is reported in any area, I strongly feel that prices or exports in non- affected areas should not be brought down," Juneja said.

Some traders are trying to cash in on the situation by forcing a reduction in farm-gate prices of egg so that they could keep them in cold storage and sell at higher rates during winter, a farmer said.

There was a need to educate the public that "there is no harm in consuming the poultry products in non-affected areas", he said, adding that it would save the industry from taking a hit again this year.

Last year, when bird flu was detected in Maharashtra the entire poultry industry suffered an estimated Rs 10,500 crore loss, Juneja said.

Source: The Hindu