Lahore emerged as a hub of poultry industry when industry experts from USA, China and other Asian countries in large number gathered at National Poultry & Food Expo (NAPFEX 2011). This expo was also significant for housewives and students who took part in cooking competition and cooking experts awarded shields to winners while the food nutritionists cleared misperception about eggs and white meat.
Experts from USA emphasized that farmers in Pakistan need to modernise their farming strategies not only to be sustainable but also to face challenges ahead as poultry industry worldwide is transforming rapidly and Pakistani industry will need to adopt these changes to compete at world level.
Senior Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa while lauding the poultry industry efforts to cater the affordable meat requirement of the nation said Punjab Government will mull over the recommendations given by the poultry industry and will resolve the issues.
“Government will provide all out support to poultry industry and will not undermine the sector with over Rs300 billion investment, providing employment to over 1.5 million people mostly in remote, underprivileged and rural areas,” said Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Manzoor Wattoo. He further stated that poultry industry has brought revolutionary changes in the life of the common men. It has uplifted the financial status of the farmers by providing better price of agricultural land and reasonable rates of the crops specially corn, wheat which is used in the poultry feed.
He said the solution of all problems of Pakistan lies in strengthening democratic process in the country because only the elected government could provide relief to the masses. He annunciates that present government is fully aware of the problems of the people as well as the challenges faced by the poultry industry and determined to solve it. He said that government had not imposed GST on the Poultry Industry in spite of financial restrains in the last budget. PPA Chairman 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 important 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 said that all imported inputs are subject to varying import duties ranging from 5 per cent 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, rendering the competition avoiding the level-playing field.
