Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Finance Minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac has asked poultry traders in the state to sell chicken at Rs 87 a kg or face action.
The minister called on traders to reduce the price of chicken as it came under the zero tax bracket with the rollout of GST on July 1. Kerala was the only state which levied a tax on chicken at 14.5%.
Isaac hit upon the figure of Rs 87 because chicken cost Rs 103 when GST was implemented. Traders, however, disagree.
The government had stepped in when chicken prices soared post the implementation of GST, with restaurants still collecting the entire tax from customers.
Poultry traders say the government went about it unilaterally and that it is not possible for them to sell chicken at Rs 87/kg when they get it from farms at Rs 115/kg.
"We get chicken from the farm for Rs 115, we sell it to retailers for Rs 125 and they sell for Rs 142. If we get chicken for Rs 60 or 70 we can sell it for Rs 87,” said Abdul Jabbar, state secretary of the farmers and traders association.
Jabbar also pointed out that the rise in price was not due to GST, but because the supply from Tamil Nadu was down. “Due to water shortage, production is less. One chicken requires one litre of water per day. Production will soon increase as they have started receiving rains,” he added.
Most traders said they couldn’t figure out the finance minister's math and are set to meet soon and decide on further cause of action.
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