THRISSUR: The mention of a major wholesale group that allegedly controls the chicken trade in the state by Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac has once again brought the debate to the possible fudging in the price of chicken fixed by traders and the suits pending in the court regarding rate suppression and tax evasion in chicken farms and sales. While the former deputy commercial tax commissioner K P Sajeevan backed the decision of Mr Issac to fix the price of a kg of chicken at Rs 87, major wholesalers in Thrissur are crying foul citing that they would suffer losses at such a rate. They also said that such a harsh decision would lead to the Tamil Nadu lobby fully taking over the poultry market in Kerala.
“Nearly half of the 200 tonnes of chicken consumed in Kerala in a day are produced within the state and the fluctuation in the price from much lower rates to nearly Rs 200 a kilogram is a fabricated one. There is no point in chicken traders relying on Tamil Nadu rates while hiking their price, as half of the total chicken is produced within Kerala. And for a batch of chicken that gets matured in 43 to 45 days such variations in price raises doubts,” Mr Sajeevan said. Sajeevan, who was instrumental in finding the alleged tax evasion of Rs 32 crore (total payment of Rs 64 crore as fine) by Thomson Group, by wholesale chicken dealer in Thrissur, said that the company, during the investigation, had produced underrated bills of Rs 55 a kg at its farm but had collected the real rate from its customers.
“But, now the same group is fixing the high price at its farms citing TN rates,” Sajeevan noted. Meanwhile, P T Davis of the Thomson Group said that sales tax officials had fudged the number in ‘building such a case’. The matter is before the High Court and it would be dealt with legally.He also claimed that the price in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka was Rs 150 and Rs 160 per kg respectively on Sunday while it was Rs 140 in Kerala. “When the prices go as low as Rs 45 at farms prior to Easter, we sell despite suffering losses. The price of chicken has been showing a downward trend and is set to come down considerably in Kerala,” he claimed.
