March 14, 2013

Due to surplus in poultry stock, Pakistan's chicken prices have plunged to PKR130 (US$1.33) per kilogramme (kg) although it was being sold for the last two weeks in the range of PKR140-150 (US$1.43-1.53).

The market sources said that broiler bird costs a farmer at least PKR120 (US$1.23) per kg but he is presently selling it for PKR80 (US$0.82) per kg with loss of PKR35-40 (US$0.36-0.41) per kg. In the same way parent stock bird is being sold for PKR4 (US$0.04), against the cost of PKR35 (US$0.36) for each bird, resulting into loss of millions of rupees.

The retailers were charging different rates of chicken in the city. Like suburb areas of city including Harbanspura, Wagha, Mughalpura, Thokar Niazbaig and other areas, live chicken bird was selling below PKR100 (US$1.02) per kg and chicken meat was available at PKR140-145 (US$1.43-1.48) per kg. A retailer at Karishan Nagar said that chicken meat was available up to maximum PKR140 (US$1.43) per kg. He said some traders were selling the chicken at further low rates however the bird size was also very small.

Pakistan Poultry Association spokesperson and former chairman Abdul Basit said that poultry farmers were selling the birds with huge losses because there was sufficient chicken production available in country. He said that the poultry sector of Pakistan is undergoing a crisis situation as the cost of breeding the birds is now higher than the revenues earned, which has impacted both the farmers and the principle suppliers. He said that the poultry sector does face periodic recessions, which - baring some disease epidemic - is mostly region-specific.

However, this time around, the meltdown is countrywide, he said, adding that the poultry meat prices are much below the cost incurred by the farmers. Resultantly the farmers have lost billions of rupees in the past weeks. He said the production cost of a parent bird to the breeder is PKR4,000 (US$41).

The rates of one-day old chicks have plummeted from a peak of PKR70 (US$0.72) to only PKR4 (US$0.04), which has severely impacted the capability of the breeders to maintain their stocks, he said.

He said the present crisis was triggered when the Peshawar High Court banned poultry exports to Afghanistan. He said the market was already facing an oversupply problem and disruption of supplies to Afghanistan acted as a catalyst for panic.

He said the production cost of a mature live chicken bird is PKR140 (US$1.43) per kg, including price of one-day old chick, feed, medicines and vaccines and power generation cost as most of the farms are established in controlled sheds that need 24 hours power supply.