Poultry prices and cartelisation.

THE verbal public sparring between the federal government and the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) continues through advertisements and media campaigns on the issue of importing genetically modified organism (GMO) soybean.

The federal minister for national food security, briefing the media about the decision of the cabinet, said that the import of GMO soybean was not allowed in the country, and the ships that are currently anchored in Karachi with this type of soybean should be redirected.

In this regard, the minister also mentioned the government's responsibility under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. What the minister is trying to implement today is politically unpopular, but is in line with the said protocol.

On its part, the PPA says that the price of chicken is increasing in the country because of unavailability of feed meant for chicken consumption in which soybean happens to be an essential ingredient. The poultry industry is...