Pakistan chicken prices surge as new taxes imposed on feed, medicines

A Pakistani poultry worker checks chicken at a poultry farm on the outskirts of Karachi, 16 January 2004. (AFP/FILE)

• Poultry farmers say the imposition of taxes has increased the cost of doing business
• Economists call for a robust policy to deal with soaring food inflation in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The imposition of sales tax on the import of feed and medicines for chicken in recent months have sent the poultry prices to a record high in Pakistan, the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) said on Tuesday. 
In the last two weeks, the retail price of chicken meat has gone above Rs600 from Rs300-350 per kilogram, while boneless chicken meat has reached Rs800 per kilogram in most parts of the country, including Karachi and Islamabad. 
Chicken meat is one of the most consumed high-protein food items in Pakistan, where people have protested whenever its prices went significantly up in the past. Though this time around there has been no such organized campaign, except for a few posts on by some social media users. Inflation in the South Asian nation also rose to a two-year high of 13.37 percent in April as compared to the same month last year, the country’s statistics bureau said on May 1. 
“Prices of every food item, medicines and poultry feed have doubled in the last two years, but people still want to buy chicken at Rs200 per kilogram, which is impossible,” Dr. Rana Sajjad Arshad, the PPA chairman, told Arab News. 
The previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government imposed a 17 percent tax on the import of poultry feed and medicines, which increased the cost. 
The feed bag that was available for Rs2,000 two years back was now costing over Rs4,700, while the price of a chick has gone up from Rs20 to more than Rs90 over the last couple of months, he said. 
“Our electricity bills, labor and transportation costs have all doubled, but people are still cursing us for a hike in chicken prices,” Arshad said. 
The PPA chairman said a live chicken was costing around Rs250 per kilogram to the farmer themselves due to the increased cost. 
“The government should withdraw all taxes on poultry feed and medicines immediately to stabilize the chicken prices,” he said, adding Pakistan was importing all medicines and feed ingredients, except for maize, to fulfill the local demand. 
While the prices of almost all food items remain volatile in the country with deteriorating economic conditions, economists have urged the government to withdraw all taxes on food items to stabilize their rates. 
“Our food prices will continue to increase until the government declares zero tax on all food items,” Dr. Hafeez Pasha, a senior economist, told Arab News. 
He urged the government to tax the rich in the upcoming budget in order to ensure the provision of subsidized food items to the poor and underprivileged. 
“Food inflation is becoming a global challenge and our government will have to chalk out a robust strategy to deal with it,” Pasha added.