The Chicken prices are expected to go up following concerns from Poultry farmers who complained about the high cost of feed making them incur huge losses.
Farmers and traders in the poultry industry are now being encouraged to take action and stay informed about the rising cost of inputs to avoid incurring losses.
The Poultry Association of Zambia has advised poultry farmers to hike chicken prices amid the high cost of doing business that has trickled down to poultry inputs if they are to make a profit.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times -ZBT, Poultry Association of Zambia Executive Manager Dominic Chanda charged that if farmers will not hike the price of chickens, they will continue incurring losses due to the high cost of inputs.
The Poultry Association of Zambia has urged farmers to pass on the cost of inputs to the chickens, as the price of inputs has continued to rise while chicken prices have remained static.
Executive Manager of the Poultry Association, Dominic Chanda, stated in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times that if farmers fail to hike the price of chickens, they will continue to incur losses due to the high cost of inputs.
Chanda emphasized that the prices of inputs in the poultry industry have gone up, and if the prices of feed continue to rise, chicken prices must also increase.
“The prices of inputs in the poultry industry have gone up and definitely if the prices of feed go up, the chicken prices sometimes also tend to go up but we haven’t seen the chicken prices going up in the recent past, it has been static. If you are able to pass on the cost of inputs to the chickens then you will see that the prices of chicken tend to change but if you can’t pass on the cost then your price will still remain static and you will start making losses,” he said.
“Most farmers use three ranges of feed: the starter, grower, and finisher. So the prices are currently ranging between k500 to k600 depending on the location,” said Chanda. He also advised poultry traders to adapt to the changes in the prices of chicken amid the high cost of living and inputs to create a win-win situation for both the farmers and the traders.
“The price has moved because in 2022 were are looking at the price of feed of about k380. The issue is that things are just becoming expensive, traders should start thinking that cheaper things are gone. Everywhere you go things are becoming expensive,” said Chanda.
