KARACHI: The prices of chicken and mutton notified by Commissioner Karachi on March 18 have yet to provide any relief to the masses as they continue to buy these products at inflated rates set by the retailers.

There are hardly any retail chicken and meat shops which display the official price list, while most retailers have termed the Commissioner rates as “unrealistic.”

On Wednesday, retailers quoted the live bird rate at Rs330-340 per kg followed by Rs530-580 per kg for its meat (without giblets).

The price regulator had not fixed the boneless chicken rate, thus providing a free hand to the stakeholders to charge between Rs700-800 per kg, almost close to veal boneless meat, which is selling at Rs850 per kg.

Pakistan Poultry Association claims it has no role in price-fixing

After week-long deliberations and consultations with the stakeholders, on March 18, Commissioner Karachi Mohammad Iqbal Memon had issued the retail rate of live bird at Rs235 per kg followed by Rs356 per kg for chicken meat and Rs1,220 per kg for mutton. At that time, live bird was already available at Rs330 per kg, chicken meat at over Rs500 per kg and mutton at Rs1,400-1,600 per kg.

Before finalising the official rate of mutton, Deputy Commissioners of various districts had informed Commissioner Karachi regarding the sale of mutton at Rs1,400-2,000 per kg.

Chicken dealers said the government should provide live birds at an officially-fixed rate so that they can sell these at a controlled rate.

Calling the move a “facesaving exercise” by the city administration, the dealers slammed consumers’ protection bodies which cannot ensure the supply of live birds at a low rate fixed by the government.

Like past practice, the price regulator had already failed in implementing the previous rate of Rs138 per kg for the live bird, Rs214 per kg for its meat and Rs740 per kg for mutton which remained posted on the Commissioner website for years instead of becoming a practical reality for the masses.

Consumers have never been able to purchase chicken and meat at these official rates as retailers refuse to sell these items at the prices set by the regulator. It will be again a testing time for Commissioner Karachi to set the new rates ahead of Ramazan.

Interestingly, the representatives of the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), poultry retailers and wholesalers, red meat associations, consumers’ protection bodies, etc – all of whom attended the March 18 meeting and praised the government – are now silent over the prevailing skyrocketing poultry and mutton rates.

Meanwhile, a message on the PPA website stated: “The Association has no role in the rate fixation of poultry and poultry products”. However, the association did not specify in what capacity did PPA Senior Vice Chairman Ghulam Khaliq attended the March 18 meeting.

On the other hand, the Meat Merchants Association (MMA) has rejected the price of mutton at Rs1,220 per kg.

MMA Chairman Haji Abdul Majeed, along with other office-bearers, said that Commissioner Karachi has unilaterally fixed the mutton rate instead of following the tradition of issuing the rate as per the rules of 1969.

He said as the rates of petroleum products have risen, the price of meat has also gone up given rising expenses. MMA had also tried to contain the price of livestock by suggesting the government various steps regarding cattle farming to control milk and meat prices, the association head said.

“The government did not pay any heed to the request while meat exports continued to soar, thus putting extra pressure on the price of red meat,” he added.

“The price of mutton has been fixed without taking MMA on board. As a result, heavy fines are being imposed on the retailers failing to comply with the official rate of mutton,” he added.

Consumers are dismayed by the failure of the government machinery in enforcing official rates for chicken and mutton.

Meanwhile, the commissioner has urged citizens to lodge complaints at Helpline 1299, Commissioner Karachi’s website and Facebook page.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2022