June 21, 2007

Pakistan poultry supply seen lower in coming months
 

Pakistan's poultry supply is expected to drop significantly in the coming months amid high bird mortality rates, said Mir Tahir Zaidi, chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association.

Due to heat waves, frequent load shedding and power failures, breeding flocks, commercial broilers and laying birds have suffered significant mortality rates reaching as high as 25 percent on some farms.

Consequently, the domestic poultry industry has suffered reduced production of hatching eggs and table eggs, as well as a drop in broiler weight gain, leading to staggering economic losses for producers.

Zaidi said the poultry demand-supply gap would persist, and expressed concern that consumers might hold producers responsible for manipulating poultry prices. The current upsurge in poultry feed prices has also added to producers' woes.