Over the past six months, poultry product prices in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have surged by 30 percent, causing significant market volatility.
The survey revealed a 30 percent increase in chicken prices and a 33 percent increase in poultry egg prices during the same period in the twin cities. Live chicken is currently priced between Rs420 and Rs440 per kg, while chicken meat is being sold at Rs680 to Rs700 per kg in both cities. Additionally, poultry eggs, which used to cost between Rs390 and Rs405 per dozen, have seen a price hike.
Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf, Chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), explained that the rise in poultry prices is attributed to demand and supply dynamics. He cited increased input costs and the overall cost of doing business nationwide as factors contributing to the market crisis. Small businesses and poultry farms, especially, have been adversely affected.
Ashraf pointed out that the economic conditions in the country are challenging, and the prices of crucial poultry feed ingredients, particularly soybean, have surged due to imports from foreign countries. He highlighted the impact of halted soybean shipments at Karachi port on poultry prices.
The PPA has called for further increases in chicken prices, highlighting the challenges faced by the poultry business in all four provinces of Pakistan—Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Hamza Sarosh, a poultry feed industrialist and Senior Vice President of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed the significance of soybean as a primary ingredient in poultry feed. He mentioned that soybeans for poultry feed are imported from America, Brazil, and Argentina.
