February 2, 2010

Pakistan poultry group urges for tax withdrawal for sector

The Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) has requested the Punjab government to cancel the property tax levied on the poultry sector.

The poultry sector is regulated by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock and it is not subject to property taxes, according to the PPA.

Property tax recently levied on the poultry sector should be withdrawn and small poultry farmers may be given incentives such as those provided to small agriculturists who are exempted from all kind of taxes.

The poultry sector should not be restrained by such taxes, and the sector's success was due to it being tax-free since 1963, said PPA chairman Dr Mohammad Aslam.

He said poultry is the cheapest animal protein and accounts for 35-40% of total meat production in Pakistan. The poultry industry is one of the largest agricultural segments in Pakistan, with an investment of PKR200 billion (US$2.35 billion) and an annual growth rate of 8-10%, according to Aslam.

He said local government taxes charged in most of Punjab were exorbitant and unreasonable, and that levying local taxes were driving up prices of poultry products, making the meat unaffordable to the general public.

The PPA demanded for the establishment of a Poultry's Producer's Market in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan, so that poultry farmers can sell their produce directly to the consumers at affordable prices by eliminating middlemen's margins.

The association also demanded the government to upgrade and modernise diagnostic laboratories in response to the emerging diseases in poultry sector. The poultry sector also asked the Punjabi government to form a loaning policy to help in the development and expansion of the industry.