KARACHI, Oct 18: Poultry feed and chick dealers have urged the government to either check black mailing tactics of some owners of hatcheries for raising the price of one-day-old chick artificially or allow a duty-free import of the same.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, central president of the Sindh Balochistan Poultry Feed and Chicks Dealers, Tariq Aziz, along with other office-bearers, said that the day-old broiler chick rate had surged to Rs22-28 in the last six months, as against the actual production cost of Rs8-10 per chick.

“We are selling broiler live birds to the farmers at a wholesale rate of Rs52-55 per kg after incurring a loss of Rs10 as production cost that ranged between Rs62 and Rs64 per kg,” Mr Aziz pointed out.

He said the association had been informing the government regarding unjustified rates being charged by the hatchery owners for one-day-old chick but no heed was given to the issue.

However, after an announcement on Oct 15 by the association to suspend the purchase of a day-old broiler chick for indefinite period, the hatchery owners had slashed the rates by Rs8-10 in the last 36 hours.