The National Livestock Producers Union said that there should be a controlled retail price for chicken.
Its Chairman Sujeewa Dhammika said that a kilo of chicken which was between Rs.1,200-Rs.1300 has increased to Rs.1,600-Rs.1,800.
However, the farmers said that despite the increase in the retail price of chicken, a kilo of chicken is sold at Rs.850-Rs.1,200 in the wholesale market and that there has been no increase in the wholesale price so far.
A farm owner spends about Rs.800-Rs.900 to produce a kilo of chicken and they have to be taken care of for 45 days.
The farm owners alleged that the profit they receive is less than Rs.300 but unscrupulous vendors receive a profit of about Rs.400. Despite this, the farm owners said that they are being accused by various people of raising the price of chicken.
They pointed out that there is a distortion of the retail price of chicken in the market and therefore it is essential to establish a fixed price.
The National Transport Commission (NTC) has said that an investigation into the recent incident where a student fell from the footboard of a ‘Sisu Sariya’ school bus, has revealed that the accident had resulted from the careless and negligent behaviour of both the driver and the conductor.
Issuing a statement, the NTC noted that, based on the preliminary findings, the Road Passenger Transport Authority of the North Western Province has taken steps to temporarily suspend the services of the driver and conductor involved.
Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation – K.D. Lal Kantha has announced that the government has decided to import 300,000 MT of maize.
Speaking to the media after attending a District Development Committee meeting at the Kandy District Secretariat yesterday (July 03), the Minister explained that this decision was taken to prevent traders from artificially inflating maize prices.
He stated that certain large and medium-scale businesses dealing with animal feed have been hoarding maize, buying it from farmers at fair prices and reselling it at much higher rates.
According to the Minister, these traders were trying to push maize prices up to Rs.190-200 per kilogram, which would have driven up the cost of eggs to Rs.200 each and increased meat prices significantly.
The Minister emphasized that while businesses are entitled to make a profit, the government will not allow unfair price manipulation. He also noted that, in the past, even ministers profited from animal products, but those days have ended and racketeers will not be allowed to control the market.
To prevent excessive price drops that could hurt farmers, the Food Security Committee has proposed imposing a tax on imported maize, he said.
