LAHORE: The LCCI has urged the government to take immediate measures to save the poultry sector and to avoid a looming food crisis. The government is not clearing 130,000 tonnes of soyabean seeds that are now stockpiled at the Karachi Port and are worth more than Rs22 billion. Soyabean oil is derived from soyabean seed, which is then processed and used as a critical component of animal and poultry feed.

The same seeds are also used to make soya milk for babies and are a critical component for the fattening of big animals. It is crucial to note that without soyabean seeds, the chicken feed cannot be produced. As a result, the country now faces the possibility of a food security crisis.

According to the President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry, and Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt, if soyabean seed is not released, meat production in the country will suffer, along with an impossible-to-manage shortage of milk and eggs. They said, due to the severe possibility of a feed shortage, many poultry farmers have decided not to place chickens in their farms this season.

They urged the government to release the soyabean seed soon, warning that if it is not, not only would the country run out of chickens and eggs in the next two weeks, but also of milk and meat, adding that this has led to the concerns about the closure of 32,000 poultry farms, as well as the direct impact on more than 300 feed mills and the suspension of $1200 million in investment in this sector, including significant participation from international investors. Additionally, the poultry industry contributes 50% of the nation’s meat needs, and it also employs more than 15 lakh people.

They added that the lack of access to soyabean seeds across the country is beginning to have an impact; chicken is becoming more expensive, and is becoming increasingly out of reach of the average person.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022