ABBOTTABAD, April 28: The poultry industry in Hazara division after passing through its hardest time ever is on the verge of collapse as poultry farmers are selling broilers at lowest ever price of Rs35 per kg as against their production cost of Rs55 per kg.

This has resulted not only in the closer of more than 500 poultry farms in the Hazara division, but in revering hundreds of people jobless.

Khalid Freed Khan, an office-holder of poultry association of Hazara told Dawn that if the government did not take positive steps now, the poultry industry will be completely ruined.

Wile giving reasons for the problems, Khan said that it was due to the slackness on the part of the government functionaries that the problem has been piling up for the last two years.

He said that the cost of feed amounts to 90 per cent of the production cost and 10 per cent is for medicines and other overheads.

He added that there was no quality control which is costing poultry farmers with higher mortality rate. Khan said that the import of G.P Breeders was another major problem faced by the local farmers.

Presenting another bleak aspect, he said, was that banks and other financial institutions have put the poultry industry on “negative” list.

He said that a further jolt for the industry was the imposition of general sales tax on medicines.

In a message to the government functionaries, especially the minister finance, Mr Khan demanded that the government should save the industry from collapse by reducing the price of feed, withdrawal of GST, and fixation of poultry products according to the cost of production.