Poultry prices register lowest increase in 22 years: farmers

LAHORE: Prices of chicken registered lowest increase compared with other edibles during the past 22 years because of the scientific production of poultry.
This was the crux of a workshop on poultry industry in Pakistan.
Mustafa Kamal, chairman of Pakistan Poultry Association said beef was sold at Rs32/kilogram in 1993. It is now available between Rs320 and Rs380/kg, depicting an increase of more than 1,000 percent.
In over two decades, mutton prices surged 900 percent to Rs650/kg from Rs70/kg. The same percentage increase was also recorded in the prices of wheat flour.
On the other hand, chicken meat, which was Rs50/kg in 1993, can now be fetched for Rs208/kg, showing 416 percent increase.
“While beef was the cheapest source of animal protein 22 years back its prices are now 50 percent higher than chicken meat,” said Kamal. “This is a global phenomenon.”
He said poultry is the most researched livestock around the world. Productivity increase in poultry is because of 100 years of continued research in this sector, he added.
A chicken breed had a live weight of 1,139 grams in 112 days with mortality rate of 18 percent back in 1925. With improvement in the same breed, the live weight increased to 1,560 grams in 63 days and mortality rate decreased to six percent. By 2010, the live weight of the same variety was recorded at 2,597 grams in 47 days with 3.5 percent mortality rate.
“This tremendous productivity boost speaks volumes about the slower pace of poultry meat rates,” said Kamal.
Abdul Basit, ex-chairman PPA said as the breeds go on improving the maturity time will further shrink and net weight gain be higher.
He rejected an allegation that steroids are used to trigger faster growth in chicken.
“Researches proved that addition of steroids in poultry feed diminishes the uptake of feed in chicken and hence forestalls weight gain,” said Basit. “Hormones are digested like normal protein.”
Sixty to seventy percent poultry feed are grains procured from local markets.
He denied the contamination of feed with pork, saying no animal protein is imported. One to three percent vitamins and minerals are added in feed to make a balanced diet for optimum growth of the bird.
Abdul Haye Mehta, another ex-chairman PPA said chicken is the most environment-friendly livestock among all the protein providing animals. It requires five to seven kg of grain and 16,000 liters of water to give one kg meat in a year. For one kg of mutton, goat or sheep has to be fed with five to seven kg of grain and 6,000 liters of water over a period of 180 days.
Globally, the consumption of poultry meat is rapidly increasing.
In 1990, poultry accounted for 21.2 percent of the global protein consumption, which rose to 29.2 percent in 2000 and to 33.40 percent in 2010.