November 17, 2003

India Punjab Government Ask For Freight Subsidy on Egg Exports
 

The Punjab government of India has asked the Central government for freight subsidy on export of eggs through the sea route of Kandla Port.

The state government said that this act would help increase the demand for eggs as a consequence of which poultry farmers would earn more, said Punjab animal husbandry minister Jagmohan Singh Kang who was addressing Punjab Poultry Farmers Conference at Pal Auditorium of Punjab Agricultural University on Saturday.

Kang said that earlier Punjab was leading in poultry production. However, he lamented that now the state ranked third in egg production in India.

Kang said that the objective behind the conference was to come up with a plant to arrest the decline in the poultry sector after interaction of poultry farmers with scientists, technical experts and private sector poultry farmers.

Kang added that it had become important to effectively market eggs and broilers. He said that the prices of the products of the poultry sector were not remunerative.

The traders gulped a major portion of profit down. "When egg prices go down, the cost of feed goes up. It is but natural for the poultry farmers to sulk," he added.

The minister urged private agencies to set up egg and meat processing plants in the state, for which, the government would offer all necessary help.

He also urged farmers to focus on quality of eggs and to ensure that they are free of bacteria and chemical residue which would increase their saleability in the global market.

Kang said that dairy, pig and fish farming were good alternatives and required little infrastructure. Vice-chancellor Dr K S Aulakh lamented that the prices of eggs during the past 20 years had not increased appreciably, though cost of inputs had increased manifold.