Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA-Northern Region)chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Fargham has urged the government to curtail increasing input cost to reduce poultry farmer's cost of production and to make poultry products acceptable to consumer's pockets.
'Farmers have lost heavily during last two years, some of them even lost their entire working capital and are at the verge of bankruptcy. If any relief package is not given to the farmers at this stage it will result in to the closure of 40 percent to 50 percent of the farms,' warned PPA-NR chairman.
Addressing a press conference, Chaudhry Fargham said industry's annual turnover is over 800 billion rupees, gives employment to over 1.5 million people directly and indirectly. Pakistan Poultry is sufficiently developed technology wise to cater the export demands to nearby countries, which are today largest importers of chicken products, especially Halal.
However, during last 2 years a steep increase has been observed and escalation has rendered this business unprofitable for the last one year. The industry is passing through a period of heavy financial losses and need an urgent attention. Being a perishable commodity, farmer is not able to transfer this hike in price as prices are determined by supply-demand basis. This high cost of production is also the main detriment in export of poultry products.
Since, the poultry input cost is largely linked to dollar value as except for local grain (Corn) rest of the inputs are imported into country, he requested that all raw materials and machinery used in food production should be free from all types of import duty/taxes.
Primary Poultry Products (Meat & Eggs) are sales tax free. So any tax levied on poultry inputs and energy bills would only add to the cost. Any materials procured and bills to poultry enterprise should be sales tax free, he suggested.
Poultry production is an agro industrial complex, poultry farming of all types and hatcheries are basically an agricultural activity and it cannot afford the high price of energy, i.e, electricity. It is submitted to this agricultural part of poultry, agricultural (tube well) tariff of electricity should be applied.
He further suggested a duty drawback of 10-12 percent to poultry exporters, which will help this sector to compete in international market and take a substantial part in Halal Food Markets. He also suggested that the exchange rate of export proceeds should be at a special premium value to encourage exporters and make them competitive.
He also recommended at least 25 percent freight subsidy on the freight cost (air freight as well as sea freight) incurred on the exports of poultry and its products.
To control food inflation, PPA-NR chairman suggested rationalizing diesel price as half to petrol price to facilitate reduction in cost of production of agriculture and transportation sectors. Though this may seems to reduce Government's income yet will generate immense business activity to counter such deficits, Chaudhry Fargham concluded.
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