He confirmed this after a meeting with several representatives of poultry associations at the Ministry yesterday.

During the meeting, the Minister said the import tax on maize has been reduced by the government, and that can be considered for the reduction of chicken prices in the local market.

Accordingly, the import tax of Rs. 75 per kg of maize was reduced to Rs. 25 on August 17 with the aim of reducing the price of animal feed produced using maize.

The Minister requested that the association members reduce the price by more than Rs. 100, but the request was rejected.

Later, the association representatives told the Minister that they would consider reducing the selling price of a kilo of chicken by more than Rs. 100.

(Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)