"Government will provide all out support to the poultry industry and will not undermine over Rs300 billion investment, providing employment to over 1.5 million people mostly in remote, underprivileged and rural areas," Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Manzoor Wattoo, has told the chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), Khalil Sattar.

Pakistan Today reports that Mr Sattar, while urging support for poultry industry, said that the government should initiate the process of getting Pakistan approved as meat exporter in halal food importing countries as there is great potential for exports of value-added chicken products to EU and GCC countries and Pakistani poultry farmers see an increasing interest for halal products in the European Union and North America.

He said that the government would need to play their role, without which no significant export of meat products can take place. He also requested the government to provide incentives to poultry exporters and freight services from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad at preferential lower rates to help boost exports of all perishable commodities including hatching eggs and day-old chicks.

He continued that all imported inputs are subject to varying import duties ranging from five to 35 per cent plus sales tax of 16 per cent while on the other hand, finished products from China are allowed to be imported at 16 per cent import duty, thus eliminating a level-playing field.

Mr Sattar said that India is protecting its local industry by clamping 100 per cent import duty, while on the other hand, Government of Pakistan has reduced the import duty from 50 per cent to 25 per cent and has also done away with the regulatory import duty of 25 per cent.

He urged the government to increase the import duty on processed poultry products to provide a level playing-field to local producers so that the industry can flourish and increase exports to other countries.

Mr Sattar said that the poultry feed producers are importing soybean meal worth more than six billion rupees (PKR) via Wahga from India out of which every year during monsoon, the fillers lose millions of rupees due to non-availability of sheds and cemented floors to place the goods at border on arrival. According to Pakistan Today, all insurance companies have stopped giving insurance cover on import of soybean meal via Wahga as a result of which there is a likelihood of zero imports of the feedstuff during monsoons, which would affect the quality and cost of poultry feed.

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