Chicken, egg prices continue to rise

ISLAMABAD:

The price of poultry chicken reached Rs460 per kg and the price of poultry eggs reached Rs415 per dozen in the open market in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The meat of the poultry chicken has reached Rs800 to Rs810 per kg in the open market, according to a survey. The price of poultry chickens and eggs has been going above Rs415 to Rs420 per kg and dozen for the past few months, which is getting away from the purchasing power of consumers day by day.

The prices of poultry items have increased by 20 per cent in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the last month, which has created huge volatility in the market.

According to the market survey, during the last three in the twin cities, a 25 per cent increase was witnessed in the price of poultry chicken, while as same as 35 per cent increase in the price of poultry eggs in the same period.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) Chairman, Dr Sajjad Arshad, said the increase in the current prices of poultry was due to demand and supply issues. He said the increase in poultry business inputs and cost of doing business was seen across the country due to which the market was in crisis.

He added that many people related to the chicken business in the country were affected by the current crisis and especially small businesses and poultry farms were closed. Sajjad said that the country’s economic conditions were also an important issue and the poultry feed ingredients imported from foreign countries were very expensive, in which soybean is important. He said many soybean ships stopped at Karachi port, which had an inevitable impact on poultry prices.

The PPA has also called for a further increase in the prices of chicken and there was an increase observed in the prices of poultry items in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2024.