Pakistan Poultry Association seeks withdrawal of duties, tax on feed import
Lahore: Pakistan Poultry Association (PPP) has demanded incentives and withdrawal of duties and sales tax on import of feed ingredients for the poultry industry.
This was stated by Raja Attique-ur-Rehman Abbasi, vice-chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association (North Region) while talking to media.
He said that poultry is the most organized sector in the agricultural sector. The poultry industry currently provides 40 -50% of the total meat consumed.
“And about 1.5 million people are employed in this sector. Poultry industry is playing an important role in economic development. Poultry is the cheapest source of meat. The latest technology and state-of-the-art machinery is being used in the Pakistan poultry industry. Due to which our country produces international standard broilers in Pakistan”, he said.
“The poultry industry has been trying for many years to provide the people with
affordable and quality protein in the form of chicken meat and eggs. Fluctuations in
the price of chicken meat are determined by the basic principles of supply and
demand.
“That is why farmers often have to sell lower than the production cost,
because it is a perishable item. In the same way, in the price fluctuations of the
during the year, sometimes the farmer is in profit and sometimes in loss. But on
average, the price is reasonable throughout the year,” he said.
The cost of production of poultry has been steadily rising in the last two years and
due to this the farmers have not been getting any significant profit from their
business for almost two years. In the present situation the poultry farmers are
facing severe losses and have become the bank corrupt, he added.
It is clear that due to these circumstances, farmers are facing a difficult and difficult situation, he explained, adding that therefore, the government should also take steps to address their problems and announce a relief package for poultry farmers. Due to high production cost, Pakistani poultry products cannot be exported despite being standard, as they are also available in the international market at low prices, the chairman added.
At present, poultry is being raised on poultry farms at around Rs. 198 per kg live, which is being sold at Rs. 110 per kg live today. In other words, farmers are losing on Rs. 30,000 chickens thus the farmer is losing Rs. 3.6 million per flock. He will not be able to bear it for long and will be forced to close the farm.
In the last few days, when the broiler suffered from Newcastle Disease and there was a shortage of Broiler Meat. Due to which the rate of chicken went up
temporarily Rs. 400 per Kg. All government agencies and media came into action.
“But now chicken worth of Rs. 200 is being sold Rs 100 from the farms and meat is being sold for Rs 180. Now the government agencies and the media are
completely silent and the poultry farmers, who are suffering severely, Raja said.
The PPA chairman said as a result, there is a risk that chicken meat will become scarce if the farm closes.
At present, the feed rate is around Rs. 3,750 per 50 kg bag as in the current
budget, the government has imposed a sales tax of 7% more on soybeans, which
has noW gone up to 17%, making poultry feed more expensive, he said.
Therefore, the government is requested to please announce a special package for
poultry farmers, so that the poultry industry continues to provide cheap and
healthy protein and its price remain under the purchasing power of every consumer, he said.
He requested to the government to withdraw Duties and Sales tax on import of feed ingredients to provide relief to the poultry industry, he concluded.
