KARACHI: The price of poultry live bird and its meat has further increased to Rs260 and Rs420-440 per kg from Rs230-240 and Rs350-400 per kg respectively as stakeholders cash in on the situation of rising demand ahead of Eidul Fitr amid short supply from poultry farms.

The price of poultry products has surged by over Rs100 over the past 10 days while the price control authority has failed to take strict action against the market players for fleecing consumers.

With no official price list display at shops, the commissioner of Karachi’s official price of live bird and its meat has been unchanged at Rs138 and Rs214 per kg for the last 10 days.

The price of boneless has been intact at Rs600 per kg which was selling at Rs500 last week.

Retailers blamed short supply of birds amid high prices from farms against high demand of birds as buyers were purchasing chicken in bulk quantities prior to Eid despite rising price trend.

Spokesperson of the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), southern zone, Abdul Maroof Siddiqui said the farm rate of live bird was Rs216 and retail rates of live bird and its meat were Rs232 and Rs394 per kg respectively.

He said retailers were minting extra money by cashing in on high demand and low supply situation.

Mr Siddiqui said around 450,000 birds were being slaughtered daily in Karachi as compared to 900,000 birds a day last year.

He said people were purchasing poultry products in higher volumes after seeing the price of beef veal meat (with and without bones) at Rs600 and Rs700 and mutton at Rs1,200 per kg.

The poultry sector had warned consumers in the last week of March regarding price hike in coming months because farmers were not putting day-old chicks at their farms owing to massive decline in sale due to closure of wedding halls, restaurants, hotels, barbecues, etc, during the lockdown which was imposed in third week of March to control spread of coronavirus.

However, it is still not clear whether marriage ceremonies in wedding halls/gardens/banquet halls would resume after Eid or not.

After easing of lockdown, online sale of food items is thriving and some hotel and barbecue owners are also entertaining online orders after Iftar.

However, Iftar dinner activities have remained largely suspended during the holy month.

Consumers believe that poultry sector comes out with different excuses every year to overcharge and fleece consumers and the price control authority takes no serious notice against them.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2020