Chicken prices in the Kurdistan Region have fallen sharply as producers struggle with oversupply, rising costs, export barriers and disease outbreaks.
Farm-gate prices dropped from 3,200 dinars to about 2,500 dinars per kilogram. Poultry owners say the decline is causing heavy losses because feed, gas, medicine and vaccines have become more expensive.
Hawre Ali, a poultry producer in Chamchamal, said feed costs rose from around 600,000 dinars to nearly 800,000 dinars. At the same time, chicken prices fell by about 750 dinars.
Another producer, Salem Marf, said raising one healthy chicken costs about 2,400 dinars. Farmers must still sell after roughly 50 days because they cannot keep them indefinitely.
Firas Sadiq, director of animal resources, linked the fall to excessive production. The Kurdistan Region produces about 300,000 tonnes of chicken annually, while local demand stands near 150,000 tonnes.
Producers want easier access to markets in central and southern Iraq. Nazim Abdullah, head of the Poultry Farm Owners Association, said transporting 10 tonnes can cost 4.5 million dinars in checkpoint fees.
Disease has created another serious problem. Producers report outbreaks of infectious bronchitis, Newcastle disease and Gumboro. Abdullah said the viruses destroyed around 40% of production. Some farmers claim losses exceeded half their flocks.
Marf said he had already discarded 20 tonnes of dead chickens. Producers also questioned vaccine quality and asked the government to monitor medicines more closely.
The Region has 2,010 licensed poultry projects and nearly 200 unlicensed farms. Some owners also complain that official supervisors rarely visit despite collecting annual fees.
Chicken currently sells for about 2,500 dinars per kilogram at farms and between 3,200 and 3,750 dinars in retail markets. Farmers say urgent export support, stronger veterinary oversight and lower input costs are needed to prevent further losses and protect the sector from a deeper crisis.
