Chicken prices likely to rise across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The poultry sector in Pakistan has warned that the chicken business could face severe shutdowns if current economic pressures continue.

Farmers face operational challenges because their expenses for essential poultry feed have reached unmanageable levels, according to industry representatives. Poultry feed accounts for roughly 70–80 % of total production cost, and its price has sharply increased because corn and soybean meal prices have risen. Producers told the media that many small farms are struggling to maintain operations because they cannot cover feed and medicine prices.

Farmers in certain regions have stopped their operations of raising new chicks. The poultry industry bodies have issued a warning that government price caps on chicken meat will cause greater financial losses, which will result in increased farm closures because producers cannot achieve sustainable selling prices.

Pakistan’s poultry sector requires policy changes, which must include cost reduction measures and input price stabilization to prevent further industry decline and chicken shortages with increased prices in marketplaces.