LAHORE - Contrary to the other kitchen items, prices of poultry products have registered a sharp decline after the arrival of Ramazan, as the chicken meat rate has fallen by over Rs90 per kg while live bird prices have dropped by Rs60 during the last one week, endorsing the view that no stakeholder is in a position of manipulation and only market forces can fix chicken meat rates. “The poultry prices fluctuate only because of demand and supply mechanism. Once the bird is matured at poultry farms it has to come to market for sale irrespective of price, as it is a perishable item and due to lack of storage facility nobody can stop it to manipulate its price, said former PPA chairman Raza Mehmood Khursand.In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Pakistan Poultry Association ex-chairman said that contrary to rates of other edibles, which have skyrocketed from the very start of the holy month, prices of chicken which were comparatively high before Ramazan, started to come down. This phenomenon indicates the fact that no stakeholder is able to manipulate the rate, except market forces. He said, presently, the PPA is providing a subsidy of Rs15 per kg on chicken meat at Ramazan Sasta bazaars, where poultry products are being sold at cheaper rates than open market.“When price goes up certain elements start negative propaganda that poultry farmers are manipulating the rates, but they must keep in mind that if poultry farmers could increase the price then they would never let it come down,” he argued.While describing the reason of sharp cut in poultry prices, Khursand said the demand has been declined significantly due to low buying power of the customers. He said chicken meat is an alternative to mutton and beef because of its affordability, as price of chicken meat is still Rs 145 less than the price of beef.Strongly protesting severe power breakdowns particularly in Punjab, he said that the crippling long-hour electricity loadshedding coupled with scorching heat has hit the poultry industry very hard. He said that due to severe power outages, the poultry sector has to install heavy generators, which also failed to operate at full capacity due to severe humidity.