Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the consumer behaviour with special reference to Poultry Meat and Egg in Tamil Nadu, India

A well-structured specifically developed questionnaire with 31 questions was circulated among residents in Tamil Nadu via social networking sites such as Facebook, Email, WhatsApp, and Twitter starting on 14^th August 2020 to 24^th August 2020. 181 out of 350 participants contacted, responded to the online survey (52%). Among the respondents (181), 30%, 21%, and 0.3% were male, female, and third gender, respectively. There was no substantial change in the consumption pattern of eggs during the COVID-19 lock-down period. However, there was a 5% reduction in the consumption of poultry meat and egg on Sunday’s during the COVID-19 lock-down period. There was a marginal increase in the purchase of poultry eggs among the respondents who usually buy less than 6 eggs per week for their family and a marginal reduction in the (-4%) in the purchase of poultry eggs among the respondents purchasing 12-24 eggs per week for their family. The regular quantity of chicken meat consumed per family per week is up to 2 kgs. There was a 6% reduction in the consumption of chicken meat among the respondents consuming 1 to 2 kg per week for their family during the COVID-19 lock-down period. This survey highlights the need for constant awareness among the general public as 36% of respondents were unaware of the about non-transmission of COVID-19 through chicken meat and egg.