LAHORE: Over 70 percent of total poultry farming exists in Punjab while 80% egg production, 85pc feed production and 100pc of poultry processing units are functioning in the province.
This was stated by Vice Chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Pof Talat Naseer Pasha in an exclusive talk with APP here on Sunday.
He said Punjab being the largest producer of agriculture and aggro residues (molasses, wheat bran, oilseed meals, rice polish etc) benefited greatly from the poultry sector as a consumer of more than 7 million metric tons of aggro based residues which in turn helped them keeping the cost of production of sugar, flour, rice, corn and edible oils etc, rationalized.
It also played an important role in checking prices of mutton, beef and pulses, any adverse effects on poultry would have adverse effects on principal food items like sugar and flour, he added.
Prof Pasha said in addition, the poultry sector had contributed substantial employment of over 1.7 million people dominantly rural youth. "It also gives empowerment of women who can run their own poultry business in rural areas which contributes greatly to bridge a protein gap addressing food security and reducing malnutrition," he added.
The poultry sector in the country had great potential but the issue was to boost the marketing sector, Prof Pasha added.
He said soybean meal was imported which was one of the most important ingredient to produce quality poultry feed and currently its negligible quantity was being produced in the country from imported soya seed. Almost 100 percent of soybean was being imported which was a reason of high prices of poultry feed.
Similarly, the import of other ingredients, including amino acid and maize, were also reasons of high prices of the poultry feed, he added.
He suggested to enhance import duty on fresh, frozen, chilled, processed chicken meat and value added products to support local poultry farming. He said that India had imposed 100 percent import duty on import of processed chicken and its value added products to safeguard and encourage its nascent poultry farming and processing sector.
Continuation of exemption of sales tax on export of processed chicken products, Pakistan currently processed 5 percent of total 1.2 billion broilers.
It had to compete with the Vet market which was 95 percent of the total chicken produced. The processing sector was documented and helped the government to reap benefits of revenue for exchequer.
The poultry processing will greatly stabilize prices of chicken which currently react to demand and supply, he observed.
Processed chicken by parts such as wing, gizzard, neck, soup bones etc were sold at very low prices, ranging Rs 15 -80 per kg, which provides high value protein to the masses.
He also urged to withdraw all duties and taxes on poultry feed ingredients, plant and machinery and grandparent day old chick for the betterment of the poultry sector.
The VC also suggested to activate commercial attache in Pakistani embassies in Middle East and Arab countries to make arrangements for exhibitions of poultry products to boost the export.
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