Game of Chicken

Prices of poulty products increased 50% in three months

ISLAMABAD: The already heavily burdened masses are now forced to pay 50 per cent higher prices for chicken because of a tussle between the Ministry of Food Security and Research and the non-genetically modified organisms (GMO) oilseeds importers.

For the last three months, oilseeds worth over $400 million have been stuck up at Port Qasim, which has taken a number of ugly turns. Though the government is making special provisions to release the oilseeds stuck up at the port, the bureaucratic hurdles are still lingering on and not only irritating the importers but also causing heavy losses to them.

The issue has stung the poultry and livestock industry, since the residual material that is left after extracting oil from oilseeds, called ‘meal’, is used to feed poultry and cattle.

A source in the ministry said the food department would issue import permit and facilitate the import of soybean meals, the major requirement of the poultry industry to meet feed requirements, as an alternative solution to the crisis created after the imported oilseed vessels were stopped at the Karachi Port for being GMO.

The move is apparently being initiated, keeping in view the threat of a countrywide protest by the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) against the feed shortage, which ultimately caused increase in the prices of broiler chicken.

In the last three months, the chicken price has increased to Rs600/kg from Rs325/kg and the broiler chicken rates have also jumped from Rs250/kg to Rs370/kg.

The shortage of GMO soyabean meal is the major reason for exceptionally high chicken prices.

Mian Tariq Javed, president of the Punjab Poultry Farmers Association, said that the ban on GMO soyabean meal is really uncalled for.

“It not only land the importers of soyabean meal in deep financial crisis but also increase the miseries of the people for whom after beef and mutton, chicken also became unaffordable,” he added.

“Because of a ban by the food ministry, soyabean seed and meals consignment worth Rs6 billion has been stuck up at the port and the importers have been paying huge demurrage charges for a crime, which they didn’t commit,” he observed.

“The poultry industry is only concerned about the shortage of feed. We demand the government to allow import of soybean meals, the basic ingredient of the poultry feed,” he added.

A senior office-bearer of the Pakistan Poultry Association said that they have nothing to do with the import of GMO seeds.

“What we need is the availability of meals for the poultry industry, as cheaper and enough stocks of feed can only pave the way for the availability of affordable chicken for the masses,” they added.

The soybean meal is the key ingredient of the poultry feed, accounting to around 80 per cent and as the country is facing soybean shortage, the feed mills have not been able to meet the demand, resulting in the price of a 50kg chicken feed bag to reach over Rs7,000 with an increase of around Rs2,000 in three months’ time.

Javed said that if the import is allowed with relaxed duty, the issue of feed shortage can be resolved within 15 days.

According to him, the then government in 2018 had imposed around 40 per cent duty on meals import at the behest of the influential importers of soybean seeds.

The import policy of soybean meals should not carry stiff conditions and restrictions to facilitate only a few influential importers, he said.

Meanwhile, traders and poultry farmers have warned that the poultry meat could cross Rs800/kg from the current Rs650/kg, as the live broiler chicken was being sold up to Rs370/kg in Islamabad.

The poultry meat and eggs have witnessed a sharp rise since October 2022, after the Customs authorities stopped the release of soybean shipments arriving mostly from the US and Brazil, and till now, nine shipments have been stranded at the port.

Contrary to the poultry industry’s stance, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema said that from now onwards, only GMO oilseeds would be imported.

In a media briefing, he said the people should stop eating chicken, as it was harmful to health. The GMO soybeans are toxic, causing diseases like cancer, he said, adding that prior to 2015, the GMO soybeans were not included in the poultry feed.

Rejecting the stance of the minister that the GMO feed is cancerous, sources in the poultry industry said until and unless the consignments are not cleared, the prices of chicken will further go up.

“If this is a case then why India, Bangladesh and many other countries are importing GMO soyabean feed. The minister is serving his vested interests and nothing else,” the PFA Punjab president claimed.

Taking notice of the issue, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had asked the minister to allow the import. However, the minister refused and even threatened to resign if he was forced to do so.

“Tariq Bashir knows very well that the PM cannot do anything because of his fragile status and the withdrawal of his support will put down curtains on him,” he added.

The people should stop eating chicken, as it was harmful to health. The GMO soybeans are toxic, causing diseases like cancer

Tariq Basheer Cheema

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research

Why India, Bangladesh and many other countries are importing GMO soyabean feed. The minister is serving his vested interests and nothing else

Mian Tariq Javed

Punjab Poultry Farmers Association president