Broiler meat prices shoot up

KARACHI:

The price of broiler chicken meat has skyrocketed due to acute shortage of poultry feed in the country as poultry farmers claim that 50 per cent of the farms have been closed.

A kilogram of broiler meat is available for as much as Rs540-Rs600 in the market.

According to farmers, if the feed crisis persists, then chicken farming might completely stop this month, which would result in further rise in the price. The broiler feed mills across the country have been shut down due to the authorities' refusal to clear the imported genetically modified soybean, which is a basic ingredient of chicken feed.

They say that 11 ships loaded with the GM soybean are docked at Karachi port, but only two of them have been offloaded. These consignments have been imported after acquiring No-Objection Certificates from the Plant Protection Department, they further say, adding that most of the consignments have already been paid for.

The poultry farmers say that they have repeatedly warned the government and the public about the situation for two months, but no action has been taken to redress the situation.

They claim that 50 percent of poultry farms supplying broiler chicken to Karachi have closed down, while those still operating might also shut after exhausting their available stocks. As a result, broiler chicken would become scarce and the price might cross Rs1,000 per kg.

The poultry farmers claim that feed is not available even for egg-laying layer chicken, which is making it difficult to meet the demand of eggs in winter. Due to this, the price of eggs is also going up and there are fears that supplies to the market might also be stopped in the near future. In this situation, broiler chicken meat is being sold in different parts of the metropolitan city for as much as Rs.600 per kg and eggs are available for Rs.300 per dozen. Citizens have demanded of the government to resolve the poultry crisis to ensure availability of poultry products to the public at affordable prices.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2023.