Price of chicken to reduce to Rs. 850 per kg by year-end

People will be able to buy a kilo of chicken from the local market for between Rs. 850 to Rs. 900 by the end of this year if the price is reduced by another Rs. 150 by November or December, Trade, Commerce and Food Security Minister Nalin Fernando said.

 

The Minister told the poultry producers to bring down the price of chicken by Rs. 200 immediately and said if they fail to do so, the government will take action to import chicken. 

 

"As a government, we are still giving time to the local producers to prevent them from falling.

 

However, the government had permitted the producers to reduce the price of chicken by Rs. 100 from today and to reduce another Rs 100 in the next two weeks, the Minister said. 

 

During a meeting held at the Ministry, the chicken producers said they can reduce the retail prices of chicken by only Rs 100. But the minister told them to reduce another Rs. 100 while giving a total of Rs. 200 for retail.

 

However, the Cabinet approval has been granted to import eggs till the end of December. If local manufacturers agree to maintain the current egg prices, the government will take action to stop egg imports, the Minister added.