Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Malik Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan on Thursday said the government would take up the problems of the poultry industry on priority basis and would help the industry to exploit its true potential.
He was speaking to the reporters and representatives of poultry industry at the inauguration of Pakistan Poultry Association’s (PPA) International Poultry Expo 2016 at the Expo Centre Lahore.
The minister said the government was aware of duties, taxes and other issues the poultry industry is facing and it would look into the issue in the light of the association’s recommendations.
He said the government was working for provision of level playing field for all industries and create a win-win situation for the country and business, and the poultry industry’s contribution in this regard had always been encouraging.
To a question, the minister said that increasing cotton yield was a top priority of the government to boost the agriculture sector and related industries. He said globally, the prices of food crops were facing decline in the open market, affecting countries like Pakistan. However, he added, the government was trying its best not to shift the burden of global effects to the growers. He said the role of middle man would also be minimised to protect the farming community from exploitation.
He said the government in the federal budget announced a historic package for the agriculture sector, and general sales tax (GST) on farm inputs like fertilisers and pesticides was decreased to give maximum relief to growers.
To another question about the poultry industry, Bosan said he had raised the matter at a meeting in Islamabad recently and the government was ready to fulfill genuine demands of the stakeholders.
Earlier, PPA’s founding chairman Khalil Sattar said the poultry industry faced heavy losses because of higher input costs, which was due to higher import duty and sales tax. The greatest loss had been suffered by the poultry seed producing sector. He said the poultry sector had adversely been affected by various taxes, which were restricting its growth.
Later, the PPA presented a souvenir to the minister.
