Court seeks govt reply over rising chicken, egg prices

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday issued notices to the Punjab government and other official respondents to file comments on a petition against rising prices of chicken and eggs.

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh of the LHC took up the petition filed by a citizen.

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The petitioner stated before the court that there is no mechanism to control prices of chicken and eggs. He pleaded with the court to issue directives for the government to ensure the rates of poultry are brought under control.

Earlier, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) revealed that 19 poultry feed companies were involved in “price coordination” which led to repeated increase in prices of chicken and eggs.

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An inquiry conducted by the CCP stated, “Poultry feed comprises approximately 76-80 % of the cost of broiler meat and eggs. Therefore, the hike in feed prices has affected the prices of chicken and eggs, which are the most commonly consumed high protein foods.”

“From December 2018 to December 2020, the feed mills colluded to raise the poultry feed prices by Rs825 per kg bag, thus making the feed 32% costlier for the poultry farmers,” the inquiry report revealed.