Poultry Farmers Demand Halt to Live Chicken Sales Below 200000 Tomans, Citing Losses

Iran's National Poultry Farmers Union has asked producers nationwide, starting Saturday, 19 September 2026 (28 Shahrivar 1405), not to sell live chicken for less than 200,000 tomans per kilogram. Habib Asadollahnejad, the union's managing director, told Khabar Online that the current production cost per kilogram of chicken is about 245,000 to 250,000 tomans, while producers are selling at roughly 170,000 to 180,000 tomans (160,000 to 180,000 in some provinces), losing 60,000 to 70,000 tomans per kilogram; the industry's daily losses over the past two to three months have topped 500 to 600 billion tomans. A field survey by ISNA found fresh whole chicken retailing for 280,000 to 340,000 tomans per kilogram. Asadollahnejad said despite the losses, there is no current chicken shortage, since Shahrivar's chick placement of about 139 million birds exceeded the country's estimated monthly need of 115 to 120 million; however, he warned that continued losses could push some producers out of the market within two to three months.