PESHAWAR: The prolonged closure of trade routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan has severely affected Pakistan’s poultry industry, causing financial losses to traders, poultry farm owners and chicken sellers.
According to Afghan media reports, Pakistan exports poultry products worth around $32 million annually to Afghanistan, including day-old chicks, poultry medicines and live chickens. However, these exports have come to a near standstill due to the continued closure of major trade routes.
A Peshawar-based trader said the closure of the Torkham border had disrupted the supply of chicks and other poultry products to Afghanistan. As a result, domestic poultry production in Pakistan has exceeded local demand, leading to a decline in prices.
Farm owners said the disruption in exports had forced them to reduce production, while some farms had also been shut down due to mounting financial losses.
Poultry industry stakeholders have urged the government to reopen trade routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan at the earliest, saying the move would help revive business activities and protect the livelihoods of thousands of people associated with the sector.
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