Poultry producers have warned that this will result in a shortage of chicken in the Colombo and suburban markets for at least six weeks due to the sudden stop in production, reports The Sunday Times FT.

Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had fixed the maximum selling price at 280 rupees (LKR) per kilo in February 2008 although the production cost averaged LKR315 per kilo.

The low selling price has forced 27 per cent of the small-scale chicken farmers to stop the growing of broilers chickens.

All large-scale producers are reported to have cut their production by 50 per cent.

Managing Director of Bairaha Farms Ltd, Yakooth Naleem - also a board member of the All Ceylon Poultry Farmers Association - told the newspaper that the shortage of chicken experienced in retail outlets in Colombo and its suburbs is due to the government’s failure to increase the maximum selling price.

He added that producers could not handle the high price of chicken feed that had directly caused the increase in the current production price.

CAA recently fixed the maximum retail price at LKR320 per kilo despite the request made by poultry producers to increase the price to LKR350.

View the Sunday Times FT story by clicking here.