Withdrawal of 17pc ST exemption to hit poultry sector hard: PPA

Lahore: Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) ( (North Region) Vice Chairman Dr. Abdul Karim while giving a press briefing to electronic and press media has said  that Pakistan Poultry Industry provides high quality protein food to the people of Pakistan in the form of chicken meat and eggs at very reasonable prices. 

Prices of chicken products are determined purely on the basis of market demand and supply, he said, adding that thus, sometimes the prices of chicken products are lower than the production cost of farmers.
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He said that the farmers are forced to sell their product at a price lower than their production cost and suffer losses as a result.

Recently, the federal cabinet approved a supplementary budget in which they have withdrawn the sales tax exemption in the poultry sector and imposed new duties as part of financial austerity measures to obtain funding from the IMF, he added, explaining the government has proposed to impose 17% sales tax on more than 150 items worth Rs 343 billion.

These include grand parent chickens and eggs, poultry machinery, branded chicken meat, pharmaceutical raw materials and sunflower / canola seeds, stated.

Explaining the way forward, Mr. Vice Chairman suggested the government to improve the poultry sector and provide a conducive business environment.

He also demanded removal of sales tax and import duty on all the above items in an effort to reduce input costs.

The imposition of 17% sales tax on poultry products will have a serious impact on production costs and will once again hurt farmers, the PPA VC said, adding as a result, production will decline and ultimately long-term increases in the prices of poultry products will be the worst loss.

The Vice Chairman demanded the government not to impose sales tax on the said items and to make every effort to provide relief to the poultry industry.