November 1 , 2007

Pakistan's poultry industry hopes to venture out after bird flu

The Pakistan poultry industry has appealed to authorities to lift the ban on exports of poultry products to allow producers access to the international market.

Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) president said standards in the poultry industry in Pakistan are comparable to those in western countries.

Pakistan has also been free from bird flu for the last few months, according to head of RCCI, Dr Hasan Sarosh Akram. The last outbreak was in late August, in which 35,000 chickens at a farm 80 km from the capital were culled due to the discovery of H5N1 bird flu.

Having access to the international market would boost confidence in the industry and encourage further agricultural production. Confidence was greatly affected after farmers incurred massive losses due to a drop in consumption levels during the bird flu outbreaks. 

Akram urged the government to grant loans to bird flu affected farms to help them restart their businesses.

A five year income tax exemption would offset the losses over the past two years, he said.

He also recommended that retailers sell frozen chicken instead of live chickens to lessen the risk of diseases.