Lahore: - Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) Chairman Rai Mansab Ali Kharal, in a press statement, has announced that poultry products will be sold at subsidised rates at all Ramazan Bazaars set up in 36 districts of Punjab.

The sale of subsidised chicken and eggs has already started from first of Ramazan, while chicken prices have reduced by Rs10 per kg, and eggs rates have reduced by Rs5 per dozen against the rates in the open market.

Kharal said that with the advent of the holy month of Ramazan, the profiteers were trying to hoard daily kitchen items in order to mint money.

“That is why, the PPA has decided to join hands with the Punjab government to facilitate the public by providing subsidised poultry products in Ramazan Bazaars,” he added.

He assured the government that PPA would transfer subsidy of Rs10 per kg on chicken and Rs5 on eggs to the public throughout the province, as compared to the open market.

He said that as a result of reduction in poultry and chicken rates in Ramazan Bazaars, even those districts would benefit where there was negligible production of poultry.

The PPA chairman further said the poultry sector was one of the most organised agro-based sectors of Pakistan. “The sector has been serving the nation since 1962 by providing poultry products to the masses at affordable rates,” he added. He said poultry, at present, constituted 40 percent of the total meat consumption and generated employment and income for around fifteen hundred thousand people.

Praising the Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif and Secretary Livestock Nasim Sadiq for setting up Ramazan Bazaars, he said that Poultry Association was regularly paying subsidy to the shopkeepers. He said that PPA convener of Ramazan Bazaars Tariq Javed was monitoring the sale of subsidised eggs and chickens in all bazaars.

He said that besides provincial government agencies, the PPA’s own monitoring teams were continuously visiting the Ramazan Bazaars to ensure that the agreement reached between PPA and Punjab government was put into effect in letter and spirit, under which the Association was supplying stock of subsidized chicken and eggs to these Bazaars.

He said that teams were also inspecting the quality of chicken being sold in all Ramazan Bazaars of Lahore as well as other Punjab cities.