Broilers’ production reaches 1.2bln/year

KARACHI: Pakistan produces more than 1.2 billion broilers in a year, which are meat-type chicken, and has become the 11th largest poultry producer in the world, an industry official said.

“Chicken once considered a luxury has now become the cheapest source of animal protein in the country,” founder Chairman of Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) Khalil Sattar said in a statement.

“The weight gain of broilers in the US is far greater than what it is in Pakistan without using any hormones.”

Sattar denied that local poultry industry is using hormones. “Today’s chicken diet mostly constitutes corn, broken rice, wheat bran, rice polishing, corn by-products, oil seed meals and vegetable oil.”

The US, Brazil and Argentine produce feed with much higher energy content than that is produced in Pakistan, because of the low price of edible oils and feed grains.

PPA chairman said a broiler chick gains more than two kilograms of weight in five weeks, while it takes about six weeks to gain the same weight in Pakistan.

But, local chicken has the same genetic package as is available in the US, Europe, India, Brazil, Argentine, China, and elsewhere in the world.

Khalil said large producers in the country have modern laboratories to evaluate health status of the chicken. “Regular tests are carried out according to a schedule to ensure that chicks are free of viruses and bacterial contaminants.”