Islamabad - The prices of poultry products, including chickens and eggs, have witnessed sharp increase across the country, particularly in Rawalpindi and Islamabad with live chicken prices touching Rs190 per kilogram.
The prices of poultry products have increased in the twin cities and the price of live chicken in the retail market reached during Eid days at Rs230- 240 per kg, whereas the eggs were being sold at Rs 100 per dozen, customers complained.
The chicken which was the cheapest source of protein for major portion of the population of the country specially the poor but it was now out of their reach like other sources of protein including beef and mutton.
Commenting on the situation, Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) Chairman Major (R) Ahmed Waseem claimed that severe heat wave persisted for long time in the country which caused the price hike of poultry products including chicken in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
“High mortality rate in poultry birds in all over the country due to rise in temperature of over 40 degree centigrade in specially in Sindh province caused a gap between demand and supply in all over the country,” he said while talking to this agency.
He expressed the hope that when weather gets better in coming days and there were chances that the gap between demand and supply would reduce, hence resulting in fall of chicken prices in the open market,” he added.
He said the recent price hike in poultry products was temporary and due to less supply and more demand. Central Chairman PPA claimed that bad weather condition, energy shortage and rise of poultry medicine prices badly effected the poultry industry in recent years.
Ahmed Waseem said that Pakistan has big opportunity to export “Halal Chicken” meat to vast world market and earned huge foreign exchange.
He was of the view that the government should support the local poultry industry to go for value addition in poultry industry and lift duties on modern poultry equipment in this regard.
Central Chairman PPA said that poultry industry have contribution worth Rs 700 billion in local market after the textile industry, which
needs government support to enhance the export level and compete to other regional countries, who earned foreign exchange from poultry in international market.
He said that poultry industries is part of agriculture and we need to modernize the poultry culture like our agriculture sector to contribute in countries economy for development and prosperity. Maj (Retd) Ahmad Waseem said that PPA would give subsidy in Ramazan Sasta Bazaar in different areas of the twins cities where poultry chicken was sold on cheap rates.
Meanwhile, former Central Chairman of Pakistan Poultry Association(PPA), Dr Hassan Sarosh said PPA would evolve strategy to provide cheap poultry product to common masses in start of coming month of August.
He said that current energy crises in the country also caused less production, adding the raise in prices of poultry feeds and medicines also effected the chicken rates in last couple of years.