Smooth power supply can reduce chicken rates by Rs70/kg
23 July, 2012
LAHORE: The poultry industry stakeholders have claimed that smooth and non-stop electricity supply to farmhouses can reduce chicken prices by around Rs70 per kg, as crippling long-hour power loadshedding coupled with humid weather have hit poultry industry hard, thus increasing its cost three times.
LAHORE: The poultry industry stakeholders have claimed that smooth and non-stop electricity supply to farmhouses can reduce chicken prices by around Rs70 per kg, as crippling long-hour power loadshedding coupled with humid weather have hit poultry industry hard, thus increasing its cost three times.
They said that due to three times hike in cost of production along with unmanageable cooling system at controlled sheds in July-Sept, which may perish even the whole poultry stock, almost 30 per cent of farmers have shut their businesses temporarily, as they cannot take the risk of colosel lose. This also causes a sharp reduction in poultry stocks, lifting their rates automatically. However, the prices can be cut by up to 25 per cent by just providing continuous power supply to controlled sheds, they said.
Strongly protesting against severe power breakdowns particularly in rural areas, poultry industry stakeholders said poultry sector has to install two types of heavy generators, one operates in the absence of electricity while other standby generator that runs when first one is failed due to sizzling climate. Owing to prolonged power breakdowns, generators also failed to operate and run at maximum 60 per cent of their capacity, costing as high as Rs40 per unit, they claimed.
They said that poultry prices fluctuate only because of demand and supply mechanism. It is a perishable product as there is no storage facility in the country. Once the bird is ready in farm, it has to come to market and has to be sold without taking care the prevailing price of the product in open market. Thus no individual can fix the price of chicken meat.
They claimed that most part of the year chicken prices remained less than cost of production. Only for few months in a year, a farmer gets premium which compensates his previous losses that is how the year average price becomes viable for a farmer to continue his work.
They said that production of chicken is 1,000 million birds in a year which means about 3 million a day. This can be more in some part of the year when weather is good and loadshedding is less as the controlled sheds have evaporative cooling system which is based on desert cooler technology that does not work in July, Aug and Sept. In these months, the first priority of farmer is to keep birds alive while weight gain is second option so the supply reduces.
They explained that cost of production is also variable like any other agriculture produce. Same is true with poultry. With such heavy loadshedding of electricity one can imagine what is happening at poultry farms. The poultry farmer, along with the Wapda connection, has got a standby generator while another generator has also been kept as a standby.
PPA former chairman Abdul Basit said that there are many other factors which have increased the cost of production. One of them is currency devaluation, as the cost of imported poultry medicines and vaccines in dollar terms have increased tremendously. Soya bean meal is the major and very essential vegetable protein source for poultry feed which is not produced locally and all are imported from India. Some time back it used to be around $200 per ton now it is over $500 per ton. “Look at transportation cost, as there is long chain from grand parents to full sized bird, which includes GP farms, hatching eggs, pregnant eggs, GP Hatcheries, parent chicks, parent farms, commercial hatcheries, broiler chicks, broiler farms, wholesale market and retail market.
He said that on all these steps a hell of transportation cost is incurred other than production cost. Poultry feed is 70pc of chicken cost and feed consists 60pc grains.
Above all, disease is biggest challenge, if there is an outbreak of any disease then you can loose 100pc birds even after spending all the above said expense. This is the biggest draw back of this business. Because of all above factors there is lot of fluctuation in prices but the average price is always in the reach of a common man. Some time it is cheaper than vegetable and pulses also. This has been proven in last many years that increase in chicken price has been the lowest than all other protein sources.
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