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Pakistani Poultry Farmer Sold $2 Million in Property to Pay Employees, Then
Came COVID-19

Ayesha Tanzeem

   ISLAMABAD - Haji Mohammad Arshad hashada few roughyearswith his once
   lucrativepoultryfarms.

   He startedWalipoultryfarmsin 1982 with
   meagerresourcesandthebusinessthrived over the decades, making him
   millions.Butthe last year and a half havebeen challengingas
   overproduction has driven pricesdownasproduction costs remained
   high.For example, acarton of eggs in wholesale, containing 30 dozen
   eggs, cost himabout$17 to produce but he could sell it foronlyaround
   $11.

   Last year, he sold more than $2millioninproperty to keep his business
   afloat and pay his more than 800 employees,but he wondered how much
   longer he could continue.

   "I am more worried about them than I am for my own children, but what
   do I do?" Arshadasked.

   Also adding to costshas beenPakistan's roller-coaster relationship with
   its western neighbor,Afghanistan. Frequentshutdownsof its land
   routesinto the country in the last few yearshaveled to majorlossesto an
   industrythathasrelied heavily on exports to Afghanistan.

   Also contributing,thedepreciation of the Pakistani rupee andimport
   duties and taxesaddedby the governmentthatcaused the price of feed and
   medicines for his birds, imported from abroad, to rise by almost 50%.

   It was a tough environment for the poultry industry to survive, but
   asthe industrystarted to stabilize after reducing its supply to match
   the demand,another crisishit: thecoronaviruspandemic.

   Coronavirus pandemic

   Pakistan has been in an almost countrywide lockdown for a week with no
   clear end in sight.

   With marriage halls and restaurants shuttered and large gatherings
   banned, the demand for poultry dropped by 20-25%, according to Chaudhry
   Muhammad Fargham, the chairman of the northern region of Pakistan
   Poultry Association.

   The uncertainty coupled with the lack of clear government policy, he
   said, was forcing farmers to sell their chickens at a reduced cost to
   try to limit their losses.

   In addition, farmers were also uncertain about the continued supply of
   feed for their birds, causing many of them to suspend buying
   hatchlings.

   "Forget the sales, now our biggest concern is that the police are
   stopping the trucks carrying feed and harassing drivers. We're afraid
   the birds might die of hunger," Arshadsaid.

   Most of the feed used in commercial farms in Pakistan comes from abroad
   and landsatthe port in Karachi. From there, it is loaded into vehicles
   that carry itacrossthe country.

   Transportation of food-related goods was exempt from the lockdown.
   HamadAzhar, the federal minister for economic affairs, said the
   government was working to solve the issues in the transportation of
   imported goods.However, lack of coordination between the federal and
   provincial authorities, as well as a lack of clear understanding by the
   law enforcement officials as to what items were exempt, was causing
   some issues in transportation. HamadAzhar, the federal minister for
   economic affairs, said the government was working to resolve those
   issues.

   Two weeks ago, the Pakistan Poultry Associationwrote a letter to Prime
   Minister Imran Khan, requesting help for what it called the "survival
   of the poultry sector in Pakistan."

   It was not clear whataidthe government gave the sector in a recently
   announced coronavirus relief package of more than $7 billion, out of
   which around $600,000 were set aside for small and medium enterprises
   and the agriculture sector.
   Around 33%of Pakistan's demand for meat is met through domestically
   produced poultry. Continued losses could lead to the country losing
   self-sufficiency, warned Maqsood Jafri, a veterinary consultant and
   himself a poultry farmer.

   "If we fall below a certain threshold, we will start importing. It'll
   become more expensive and our per capita consumption of nutrition,
   which is already low, will further decline," he said.

   Pakistan is already suffering from a balance of payment crisis and the
   government is desperately trying to increase imports and curb exports.
   Importing poultry could be bad for both the country's physical and
   economic health.

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