DAMMAM:The price of chicken is expected to rise further this year because of the increased cost of feed and medicines, according to dealers. Dealers in the poultry industry, including those selling frozen chicken, say it is likely that prices would rise by early July because of increased production costs. The price of chicken feed has risen to SR120. Some frozen chicken companies have raised the price of an 800 gram chicken by 50 halalas to SR10 and a 1.1 kilogram chicken by SR2 to SR14. The price for a one kilogram chicken has remained the same. Dealer Engineer Fathi Al-Sa'eed said the price increases are a fait accompli. He pointed out that the decision to raise prices in early May caused confusion for poultry farmers in the Eastern Province. He said poultry farms raised prices over the past week to between SR8.75 and SR9 from the earlier price per chicken of SR8.25 to SR8.5. This is creating pressure on frozen chicken companies to move in the same direction. Another dealer, Engineer Muhammad Saleem, said there are serious moves by individual poultry farms in the Eastern Province to study the current situation, especially the continuing rise in production costs. He said profit margins have started decreasing because of recent developments. Saleem pointed out that over the past few days the pharmaceutical companies have started increasing prices. The price of a 1,500 dose has been raised from SR220 to SR224 per carton, but price hikes have not affected other medicines. He said the hikes were unjustified.
