The government has agreed to grant several concessions, including the provision of up to Rs 10 million per head interest-free loan, to small poultry farmers to help revive the bird flu-stricken industry that contributes one percent to GDP annually.
The government will also reduce to zero level the import duties on several items, like organic material for poultry feed preparation and medicines, under an incentive package for the industry.
The Central Board of Revenue (CBR), however, has turned down the industry's demand for across-the-board income tax exemption for five years, saying that it was against the prevalent taxation regime.
At the meeting of the Federal Poultry Board here on Tuesday, industry representatives told the government that they had suffered Rs 9 billion loss after the bird flu resurgence in February this year.
Presided over by Federal Food Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan, the meeting decided in principle that these demands would be sent to Finance Division for approval in the coming budget.
Both the Food Ministry and the poultry industry also agreed to enact a law under which all new farms would be registered with the government.
The government, under the incentive program, would launch a media campaign to restore confidence of the consumers to motivate them for using poultry meat and eggs.
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