Poultry dealers at Ramadan Bazaars on Monday refused to sell their products at government rates.
“We get chicken at Rs 145 per kg to Rs 157 per kg. It means it costs us around Rs 200 per kg and it is impossible for us to sell it at the government rate of Rs 180 or Rs 198 per kg,” a trader said. The traders claimed that because of the zero profitability margin, no chicken dealer was ready to do business at Ramadan Bazaars.
“On one hand, the government wants to sell chicken at its rate while on the other, it is harassing and arresting chicken dealers,” Akram Mehmud, a chicken dealer said.
The government has set up 25 Ramadan Bazaars across the provincial metropolis and only five to seven bazaars have chicken stalls.
However, traders at Ramadan bazaars showed no mercy to the already the hard-pressed consumers and sold essential articles at inflated rates.
As compared to essential commodities like flour, gram flour and pulses, there has been a tremendous hike in green vegetable prices while fruits were available at rates much higher than the open market.