LAHORE: The price of chicken meat reached Rs365 per kilogramme on Sunday, setting a new record for the ongoing year.

The white meat has registered a Rs34 per kg increase in a week to the disadvantage of those who cannot afford red meat – mutton and beef.

The price of eggs, after relenting a bit in the last couple of weeks at the end of the winter season, has again begun its upward trend, as a dozen is selling for over Rs165 against the official rate of Rs158. They were selling for Rs150 a dozen a week ago.

Poultry farmers blame the exorbitant hike in the rate of poultry feed for the increase in prices of chicken meat and eggs.

They say that the price of maize, the main component of the poultry feed, has gone up over twofold this year, as it is selling for Rs1,800 per 40kg against Rs850 last year.

The government had for the first time allowed poultry feed mills to buy wheat from the open market in the last season to replace maize in the feed, but its official rate too went up from Rs1,400 per 40kg last year to Rs1,800 this year, while its rate in the open market is Rs2,200 per 40kg, they claim.

The farmers also claim that the cost of energy as well as poultry medicines had registered a 100pc increase during the year and all these factors added to their production cost.

Meanwhile, meat sellers bemoan that the rising chicken prices have hit their business. Yasin, a shopkeeper in Canal Park, Gulberg, says his daily sale has plummeted by around 30pc as his customers have either stopped purchasing the meat altogether or reduced their consumption.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2021