Short answer: what a bag of poultry feed costs in Pakistan is set mainly by the cost of maize and imported soybean meal, which move with harvests, world markets and the exchange rate, plus freight and the quality work a mill does. The cheapest bag is not always the cheapest feed; compare cost per kilogram of live bird. It also helps to know how to check feed quality before you buy. Looking for the poultry feed price in Pakistan today? Our feed rate page shows how to get it from the mill, or call or WhatsApp 0311 1555136.
Ask ten dealers the rate of a 50 kg broiler bag and you will get ten numbers. Ask why the numbers differ and the answers go quiet. As a mill, Vital Feeds (Private) Limited sits where the price is actually made — so let us open the bag.
Why does feed matter so much to broiler profit?
Feed is the biggest cost on a poultry farm. A peer-reviewed study on feed efficiency in meat-type chickens (Genetics Selection Evolution) states that feed makes up about 70 percent of the cost of raising broilers. That is why a small change in feed price, or in how well the birds use the feed, changes the whole result of a flock.
Which ingredients set most of the feed price?
Maize and soybean meal together make up the bulk of a broiler ration — and most of its cost. Maize brings the energy; soybean meal brings the protein. When local maize tightens between crops, or imported soybean meal moves with world markets and the dollar, every mill in Pakistan feels it in the same week. You can watch the same world forces on the FAO food price index.
No mill controls these markets. The difference between mills is what they do around them.
How do soybean imports affect feed price in Pakistan?
Pakistan does not grow enough soybeans for its feed industry, so the soybeans crushed for poultry feed are imported. The USDA Pakistan Oilseeds and Products Annual report describes how the October 2022 halt on genetically engineered soybean imports pushed up poultry feed prices, cut poultry production and raised broiler meat prices. It also calls soybean meal the best protein source in poultry feed rations.
The lesson for a farmer: when you hear news about soybean shipments, port delays or a sharp move in the dollar, expect feed rates to follow within weeks. It is not the dealer being greedy; it is the cost of the bag.
What else goes into the price of a bag?
- Freight and fuel. Ingredients travel to the mill and feed travels to your farm. Diesel and transport costs are in every bag.
- Vitamins, minerals and additives. Many of these are imported too, so they also move with the exchange rate.
- Packaging, power and labour. Smaller items, but they add up.
What part of the price can you not see?
Two bags can carry the same rate and be very different purchases:
- Raw material testing. Maize with hidden moisture or moulds is cheaper to buy. It makes the bag cheaper — and the flock slower. Testing at intake costs the mill money and saves the farmer more.
- Pellet quality. Fines in the feeder are feed you paid for that the birds ignore. Ask any dealer to open a bag from the bottom of the stack.
- Consistency. A ration that quietly changes with every cheap raw-material deal shows up as an uneven flock. Batch coding exists so a complaint can be traced, not argued about.
- Storage on your farm. Even good feed loses value in a damp, hot store. See how to store animal feed on the farm.
What is the honest way to compare feed prices?
Never compare rate per bag. Compare cost per kilogram of live bird produced: total feed cost divided by total weight gained. A cheaper bag that worsens FCR even a little is the expensive bag — because feed is most of the cost of the bird, the arithmetic always wins.
- Write down every bag that goes into the shed for one flock.
- Weigh or record the total live weight sold.
- Divide total feed cost by total live weight.
- Do the same on the next flock with the other feed, in a similar season.
Use the broiler weight chart and the broiler feed consumption per bird guide to check whether your flock is on track. Most farmers only need to do this once to change how they buy.
Why do we not print today's broiler feed price?
Because rates change with the market, and a stale printed rate is a small lie. Current dealer and farm rates for broiler, layer and chick starter (see our broiler feed in Pakistan page) come straight from the mill. You can also find a nearby stockist on our dealers page.
Written by Waqas Rafiq, CEO, Vital Feeds (Private) Limited.
See our poultry feed, cattle and dairy feed and fish feed, or message the mill on WhatsApp (UAN 0311 1555136) to plan delivery sizes that suit your farm.