The already on decline poultry business in the NWFP plunged into further crisis after Sarhad Poultry Farm Association decided to stop buying of day-old broiler chickens.
The decision to this effect was taken in the wake of the rumours of bird flu during a meeting held here at Bacha Khan Chowk on Sunday. A large number of poultry farmers attended the meeting. President of the Association Fazil Malik presided.
The meeting decided that the Association would not buy day-old broilers from Punjab. The decision would directly hit the chicken production. The province was used to purchase about 0.250 million chicks in a week from Punjab.
The poultry farmers were also used to export 20,000 broilers daily to Afghanistan, which has now completely stopped.
The decision would also render thousands of people jobless.
"A propaganda campaign based on baseless health reports is going on against poultry farmers destroying our business," Fazil Malik told Business Recorder.
He said that due to propaganda Afghanistan had banned import of broilers from Pakistan. Afghanistan, he said was very attractive market for poultry products.
Fazil Malik came hard on the government and accused it of playing the role of a silent spectator. He demanded of the government to raise the matter with the Afghan government as there was no bird flu in the broilers.
"We are stopping the chicken production as a protest against the smear propaganda campaign as well as the government's wait and see policy," the president of the Poultry Farmers Association remarked.
Meanwhile, poultry dealers have warned against expected unprecedented hike in the prices of poultry within a month.
They expressed the fear hat the latest development could push the prices to Rs 80 per kilogram in the local market in the coming days.