Most independent broiler farmers in Pakistan buy feed on credit from a dealer and pay after the birds are sold. That udhaar keeps many farms running, but it has a price, often hidden in a higher rate per bag. If you measure that price and keep a clean khata, credit stays a tool instead of a trap.
How feed dealer credit usually works
A value chain study of the chicken sector in Pakistan (Aslam and others, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020) found that small independent broiler farmers mostly buy commercial feed, and that it is mostly supplied on credit. In everyday practice the deal often looks like this:
- The dealer sends feed, and sometimes chicks and medicine, during the batch.
- You pay after the birds are sold, sometimes all at once, sometimes in parts.
- The credit rate per bag is higher than the cash rate.
- Sometimes the dealer, or a broker he works with, also buys your birds, and the payment for the birds goes straight against your balance.
None of this is wrong in itself. Trouble comes when rates are not written at delivery, when old balances roll from batch to batch, or when you have no record of your own.
The interest hidden in the price
Dealers rarely say "interest". The cost of credit sits inside the price. To see it, ask the cash price and the credit price for the same feed on the same day.
Here is an example, not a real market rate:
- Cash price: Rs 7,500 per 50 kg bag
- Credit price: Rs 7,800 per bag, paid after about 45 days
- Extra paid: Rs 300 per bag, which is 4% of the cash price for 1.5 months
- That is about 2.7% per month, or roughly 32% a year
On a batch using about 300 bags, that is Rs 90,000 paid for credit. Over five or six batches a year it adds up to a large amount.
Keep your own khata
The dealer has his register. You need your own. The most common disputes are about rates that were filled in later, bags that never came, and payments that were not written.
For every feed delivery, write
- Date
- Number of bags and feed type (starter, grower, finisher)
- Rate per bag, agreed at delivery, not later
- Total amount
- Delivery slip or bilty number
- Who received it at the farm
For every payment, write
- Date and amount
- Cash, bank transfer or birds sold against the balance
- Who received it, and a photo of any receipt
Also note
- Short or torn bags, and wet or lumpy feed sent back. See feed quality and storage.
- Chicks and medicine taken from the same dealer, on separate lines.
| Date | Item | Bags | Rate (Rs) | Debit (Rs) | Paid (Rs) | Balance (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Mar | Starter | 40 | 7,800 | 312,000 | 312,000 | |
| 12 Mar | Grower | 100 | 7,700 | 770,000 | 1,082,000 | |
| 25 Mar | Finisher | 160 | 7,600 | 1,216,000 | 2,298,000 | |
| 08 Apr | Payment from bird sale | 2,000,000 | 298,000 |
The numbers above are only an example. The point is that every line has a rate and the balance is always clear.
Match the khata with the dealer
Once a month, or at least at the end of each batch, sit with the dealer and go line by line. Agree the balance, then both sign, or send a WhatsApp message like "Balance on 8 April: Rs 298,000, agreed". If a line does not match, sort it out now, while both of you still remember.
Watch for these warning signs
- Rate left blank on the delivery slip and filled in later at a higher rate.
- Old balance growing every batch even when the batch made money.
- Markup on old balance that was never agreed.
- Bird sale handled by the dealer with no weight slip or rate given to you. Ask for the kanta slip every time. See selling broilers, rates and weighing.
- Feed quality complaints ignored because "you owe us".
A plan to pay it off
- Know the real total. Add up your khata, not only what the dealer says.
- Set money aside at every sale. Pay the current batch's feed first, then something on the old balance.
- Ask for a cash rate on part of the feed. Even paying cash for the starter bags saves the credit cost on them.
- Do not start a new batch on a large old balance unless you have a plan, written down, for how it will be paid.
- Compare. Ask another dealer for his cash and credit rates. You do not have to move, but you will know if your terms are fair.
- Work the credit cost into your batch cost. Your break-even rate must include it. See broiler farming cost and profit and try your numbers in the profit calculator.
If you are unsure how to read your own balance or work out the yearly rate, you can ask Helper, the AI assistant in Poultry Curve, to do the sum with your figures.
The short version
Udhaar is a normal part of broiler farming, but it has a cost. Find it by comparing cash and credit rates. Write the rate at every delivery, keep your own khata, match it with the dealer every month, and pay down the old balance a little at every sale.