Contrary to the other kitchen items, prices of poultry products have registered a sharp decline after the arrival of Ramazan, as the chicken meat rate has fallen by over Rs 90 per Kg while live bird prices have dropped by Rs 60 during the last one week, endorsing the view that no stakeholder is in a position of manipulation and only market forces are fixing the rates.
“The poultry prices fluctuate only because of demand and supply mechanism. Once the bird is matured at poultry farms it has to come to market for sale irrespective of price, as it is a perishable item and due to lack of storage facility no body can stop it to manipulate its price, said former PPA chairman Raza Khursand. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Pakistan Poultry Association ex-chairman said that contrary to rates of other edibles, which have skyrocketed from the very start of the holy month, prices of chicken which were comparatively high before Ramazan, started to come down.
This phenomenon indicates the fact that no stakeholder is able to manipulate the rate, except market forces. He said, presently, the PPA is providing a subsidy of Rs 15 per Kg on chicken meat at Ramazan Sasta bazaars, where poultry products are being sold at cheaper rates than open market. “When price goes up certain elements start negative propaganda that poultry farmers are manipulating the rates, but they must keep in mind that if poultry farmers could increase the price then they would never let it come down,” he argued.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2012
