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Chicken prices jump by Rs14 in five days
KARACHI, March 26: Smelling consumers' restoring
confidence on chicken after a deep fall in
consumption owing to bird flu scare, poultry
farmers and wholesalers have finally given a deep
jerk to the end-users by pushing up prices of live
bird by Rs8 per kg in just one day and Rs14 per kg
in just five days.
A day back, chicken live bird was being quoted at
Rs50 as compared to Rs58 on Thursday, while five
days back, it was selling at Rs44 per kg. Chicken
eaters received a shock to witness the prices of
white meat reaching to Rs100 per kg from Rs70-80
five days back.
City's daily poultry bird consumption has
nosedived to 125,000-150,000 birds in December
2003, which later recovered in February to 200,000
birds if compared to peak level consumption of
350,000 birds daily in the megacity.
"It has now reached to 300,000 birds per day in
Karachi," Secretary General Karachi Wholesalers'
Poultry Association (KWPA), Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui
said. He defended the sharp increase in live bird
prices to Rs58 per kg by linking it to shortage of
birds as 30 per cent poultry farms in Sindh were
still closed, thus creating a supply gap.
"The price is now on a recovery path to reach at
its old levels, as previously, chicken was being
sold at under cost," he added. He claimed that the
poultry industry was yet to recover fully from the
shock of H7 and H9 viruses that had played havoc
with the poultry industry, killing over 3.5
million layer birds in Karachi and its outskirts,
causing losses to the tune of over Rs1 billion.
Consumers had skipped the chicken from their menu
since December last year in anticipation that the
same bird-flu virus, that killed over two dozens
people in some South Asian countries, had swept
away huge flocks of birds in local poultry farms
also.
Consumers had become panicky of becoming death
victim in case they took a bite of white meat.
However, the poultry farmers and the government
clarified the situation, though very late, that
only layer birds, which had only 10 per cent
consumption had been hit by the H7 and H9 strain
of virus and broiler birds were totally safe from
any disease. The media hype later gradually
restored the confidence of public on white meat.
The rush at chicken-based food outlets, Bar B Q
points and chicken broast centres is now picking
up as the minds of people have now become clear
that the chicken is free from any virus or disease
and fit for human consumption.
Taking advantage of this improving situation, the
wholesalers and poultry farm owners have pushed up
the prices to recover their huge losses incurred
to them in December to mid of February.
Ex-chairman Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA)
Afsar Qadri said that rising demand coupled with
low production have caused a price flare up and
the markets may remain under pressure as
production of chicks is still very low.
Qadri said that the 30-40 per cent of the farms in
Sindh had been totally vanished from the scene in
which many poultry farmers, who had been in this
business for the last 20 years, had to close their
farms owing to massive losses in million of
rupees.
The DAWN |
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Pakissan.com; Advisory Point
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