August 14, 2009
Pakistan's Punjab to boost poultry sector
The government of Punjab, a province of Pakistan, will formularise a new set of policies to boost the poultry sector, of which 73 percent were based in the province.
Punjab, being a major poultry province, has great export potential, said Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, senior advisor to the chief minister of Punjab.
The policies of the previous government failed to encourage poultry exports, so the Punjab government will draw up new policies and discuss the matter with the federal government, he said.
Zulfiqar Ali Khosa said 40 percent of animal protein requirements are met by the poultry sector, which is also the cheapest meat and egg provider.
He said mutton has become too expensive for the lower class while chicken has remained as the only option for the middle class in social gatherings.
In addition, Khalique Arshad, the chairman of Punjab Poultry Association, said the poultry sector should be treated as part of the agricultural industry and be exempted from the urban property tax or have reduced tax.
Arshad also said the license fee for poultry should be reduced to PKR250, for feed to be reduced to PKR2,000 from PKR20,000 and development charge for construction should be lowered to PKR500 per acre from PKR5,000 per kanal.
US$1 = PKR82.0600 (Aug 14)
