Hyderabad: Despite chicken being taken off from the GST purview, the new tax regime has taken its cost to an all-time high. The cause of the price hike is attributed to the input costs in raising the poultry.  

Dressed chicken, which till recently cost around Rs 180 per kg, has now gone up to Rs 250 per kg. This is the highest price of chicken in the recent times. Industry sources say that the prices would not come down unless the maintenance costs are reduced, recent increase in the remunerative prices of soya and maize, used as poultry feed had put heavy burden on poultry farmers in nurturing the birds. 

In addition, the cost of chicks bought from the hatcheries has gone up suddenly. The hatcheries have hiked the cost of the birds stating that their production costs have gone up in the post-GST scenario. The hatcheries now have to pay more to the government on the services utilised to produce the birds, he said. 

A Federation leader said that though the poultry farming and poultry feed supply did not come under the GST directly, the services like transportation and logistical maintenance in the hatcheries has become costlier under the new tax regime and it impacted the poultry farmers. 

As the demand for chicken increased following mushrooming of restaurants and high consumption of the white meat during weekends, chicken would be one of the costly non-vegetarian items. 

Meanwhile, customers alleged that the traders and poultry farmers are fleecing them in the guise of GST impact by increasing chicken prices.