Quarter of country’s poultry farms wiped out

The poultry industry has suffered losses in the vicinity of Rs6 billion due to the damage wreaked by the floods.

LAHORE: The poultry industry has suffered losses in the vicinity of Rs6 billion due to the damage wreaked by the recent floods. Former chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association, Abdul Basit, warned that the industry was at the verge of collapse and that the livelihood of 1.5 million people is at risk.

Basit, who is currently the convenor of the association’s export committee, told The Express Tribune that the government must pay special attention to the industry’s problems in the wake of the havoc caused by the floods.

He estimated that around 25 per cent of the industry has been destroyed and if attention is not given to the sector in the coming months, Pakistan could face a severe shortage of not just chicken but other meat products as well.

“There are around 25,000 poultry farms in Pakistan and at least 6,000 farms have been ruined because of the floodwaters,” he said. “Our capacity has dropped by 25 per cent and now we can only produce 2.1 million chickens on a daily basis.”

He highlighted that farms previously had the capacity to produce three million chickens daily. Basit warned that even though the prices of chicken have seen a sharp decline in recent days, consumers should be prepared for a sharp increase in prices if immediate action is not taken.

“At least 1.5 million people are associated with the poultry industry. If the industry is not saved then not only would these people lose their jobs but consumers will also be forced to buy expensive chicken,” he said.

He explained the prices of beef and mutton are correlated with chicken production and prices. Prices of other meat products, especially mutton, tend to rise when the per-kilogramme rate of chicken goes up.

“If the government wants to control the prices of food items it has to declare the poultry industry ‘calamity hit’. It needs to waive all previous loans given to poultry farmers and issue new loans on low mark-up,” said Basit.

He also demanded tax breaks for poultry farmers.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2010.