Pakistan Poultry Association Chairman Dr Abdul Karim announced this in a press briefing at the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday.

According to Pakistan Today, he said that prices of poultry products had remained very low for a long time, causing losses to farmers and resulting in the closure of almost 30 percent of the poultry farms in the country.

“Presently, demand is high while supply is limited. However, the situation will improve as a huge supply of chicken is in the pipeline and prices of chicken will start falling within a few days, he added.

“It is a perishable product and there are not enough storage facilities available. It has to be sold immediately irrespective of what price the farmer gets,” he added.

“When prices of poultry products are raised, the consumers often unfairly blame farmers for the hike in prices.

"The fact is that for most of the year, chicken prices remain less than the cost of production.

"It is only for a few months that a farmer gets his premium, which gives him compensation for his previous losses.”

The PPA chairman said that the poultry sector was the most organised branch of Pakistani agro-based sectors.

He said that the poultry sector had been serving the nation and providing affordable poultry products to the masses to fulfil requirements of animal protein.

Poultry at present contributes to 40 per cent of total meat consumption and generates employment and income for about 1.8 million people.

To a question, he clarified that halal poultry feeds were used and not imported feeds.