ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: The poultry industry is experiencing severe crisis after its exports to Afghanistan fell due to US action against the war-torn country, sources told Dawn on Monday.

The sources said before US bombing, Afghanistan was an attractive market for the local poultry farmers. Since the start of the war, export of poultry items from Pakistan to Afghanistan had stopped, they added.

“As a result of stoppage of export to Afghanistan, the production of chicken and other poultry items increased as compared to the local consumption,” the sources said.

When contacted, the president of the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), Dr Amjad, told Dawn that poultry farmers were selling chicken at a cost of Rs36 per kg despite the fact that the production cost was Rs48 to Rs50 per kg.

“The poultry farmers were compelled to sell their chicken at a loss of Rs13 to Rs14 per kg,” he added.

Similarly, the production cost of a day-old chick was Rs12, however, it was being sold at Rs6, the PPA president said.

He said due to faulty planning, the poultry farmers had over produced chicken in the current season, but, its consumption was quite low.

Dr Amjad said the PPA members had met here on Monday to chalk out a strategy to cope with the situation and find out ways to increase local consumption of chicken to save the crippling poultry industry. He said the Association would also meet at Lahore on February 19 to find out solutions to the problems confronting the industry.

“As a result of low consumption of poultry items and the prevailing crisis, some poultry farmers were closing down their farms, and if the situation did not improve, the entire industry would collapse,” he said.