The UK government must extend its examination of food supply chains to poultry meat or risk more empty shelves, NFU Scotland has said.
The union has warned that "retailer resistance" to paying farmers a fair price for chicken had driven the decline in UK production.
This "severe" lack of profitability in producing poultry meat had caused a "sharp reduction" in the number of birds being reared.
NFU Scotland is calling for a price increase back to the farmgate of around 20p per kilogram or "empty shelves will become a reality".
It comes as the UK Government recently announced an investigation into the egg supply chain, where failure of the retailers to pay a fair price saw production fall and empty shelves.
NFU Scotland said a government investigation was "urgently required" for poultry meat as "a similar picture is rapidly emerging".
The union warned that failure of retailers to boost prices would "further undermine the nation’s fragile food security position and leave the UK more exposed to imported chicken".
The gravity of the situation was discussed at the union’s Poultry Working Group meeting last week, with its chair, Robert Thompson, warning that it was a 'huge concern' for the sector.
“At a UK level, numbers are significantly down," he said, "Some units in England are sitting empty and with the growing market uncertainty, some are moving processors to try and get a better deal.
“That must be a huge concern to the UK government as chicken is a success story for the UK. Poultrymeat is still one of the cheapest sources of protein, versatile and nutritious and is incredibly popular.
"Our growing standards are the highest in Europe. Growers have had to be extremely efficient and adopt all new technology available.
“Fifty years ago, chicken was seen as a luxury but now is an ever day essential. Unfortunately, chicken is now cheaper per kilogram than it was in the 1970s and that is unsustainable."
So far, the UK government has not offered chicken producers the highest level of relief available on energy costs despite repeated requests.
Chicken feed prices may have eased from the extreme highs seen last year, but utilities and operation costs have soared.
NFU Scotland said that retailers had left poultry rearers and processors "on very tight margins for some time, but the situation continues to worsen".
Mr Thompson added: "Retailers need to step up to the mark and deliver a fair share of profitability to all parts of the chain.
“Retailers failed to take heed when we warned them about egg shortages. They have an opportunity to avoid repeating that mistake by delivering a fair price on chicken back to farmers.”
