Boneless meat in Pakistan costs Rs 1,100 per kg, milk at PKR 210 a litre

Pakistan finds itself in a difficult situation today with it being unable to curb the rising prices. Talks with the IMF have not been successful as well

New Delhi, Feb 14: The woes in Pakistan continue with prices continuing to soar. A kilogram of chicken in Pakistan now cost over (PKR) Rs 780 a kilogram.

Pakistan continues to seek a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to bail itself out of the ongoing economic crisis.

However there have been reports of fuel shortage and increasing debt. No major country has come to rescue Islamabad, which has only made matters worse for the country.

The price of loose milk has been increased to PKR 210 from 190 per litre. The cost of live broiler chicken is now priced at PKR 480-500, which is an increase by RS 30-40 in the last two days, a report in the Dawn said.

Chicken meat is now sold at Rs 700-780 a kg. This is again a massive increase and chicken meat before this cost Rs 620-650 a kg. Reports said that the price of boneless meat now stands at PKR 1,000-1,100 a kg.

The Karachi Milk Retailers Association's media coordinator Waheed Gaddi said that the over 1,000 shopkeepers are selling milk at inflated prices. These are actually shops of wholesale/dairy farmers and not our. Members, Gaddi also said.

He also said that if the price hike announced by the dairy farmers and wholesalers is not reverted, the price of milk is set to cost PKR 220 per litre instead of Rs 210.

The Sindh Poultry Wholesalers Association's general secretary, Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui said that the wholesale rate of live birds was Rs 600 a kg while meat rate was around R 650 and RS 700.

Pakistan and IMF:

There has been a stalemate in talks between Pakistan and the IMF. This comes as a blow to the country as it struggles with recovery from the floods last year, in which 1,739 people were killed and 2 million homes destroyed.

Pakistan has a history of seeking financial assistance from the IMG. In 2019, it entered into a three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme with the IMF to address the balance of payments difficulties. The programme was suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19, but was resumed a year later. The IMG has provided several financial packages to Islamabad over the years and the most recent one was a $6 billion loan under the EFF package.