Some Switch To Chicken as Dal Prices Soar

MADIWALA:As the prices of pulses soar, many people in Bengaluru are upping their intake of chicken, traders say.

The price of tur dal in Bengaluru is Rs 150 a kg, while moong dal is priced at Rs 130. Green gram comes for Rs 120, and urad dal is the costliest, at Rs 195. Chicken is relatively cheaper at Rs 110 a kg.
“Demand for chicken has gone up in the last month or so,” said Lakshmi Sagar, who runs a poultry store on Airport Road. “Earlier I used to sell 900 kg a day, but now it is 1,500 kg.”

Switching to eggs and chicken is not an option for everyone though. “I have cut down our consumption of dal because of the high prices, but I can’t eat meat because my family is strictly vegetarian,” said Vishnu Priya, a resident of Jayanagar.

Online not cheaper City Express checked to see if buying dal from online stores is cheaper, but the difference is negligible. Organic produce sold online costs almost double.
For most people, especially vegetarians, dal is a vital source of protein. According to Poultry India, a trade body, a person should eat 1 gram of protein for every gram of body weight. But in India, protein consumption is less than 30 grams a day.

Sonia Gupta, a graphic designer said, "I prefer vegetarian food to non-vegetarian. For my protein, I love dal but I eat more egg and chicken these days."
Eggs are seen as an affordable and quick fix, and are described by some as the ‘cheapest source of protein’.

O P Singh, core member of Poultry India who heads Advanced Bio Agro Tech and Huvepharma SEA, told City Express, “India produces 225 million eggs a day. Egg is the best source for protein after mother’s milk.”


Source : www.newindianexpress.co

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