LAHORE: After the imposition of 5 per cent sales tax on all types of poultry feeds in the budget 2015-16, the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) has warned of at least 25 per cent increase in prices.
PPA Chairman Muhammad Mustafa Kamal, during a press briefing, said that the budget has a demoralising effect on poultry farmers. “The heavy duty on the import of soybean meal is illogical because it is raw material of the poultry industry and is not produced in Pakistan,” he said.
He said the industry was in a quandary – if it passes on this 25pc additional cost to consumers, they will be unable to purchase the expensive poultry products, and if it bears the higher cost itself, it will collapse as it is already fighting for survival owing to ever-increasing cost of production.
The daily per capita protein intake is 79-95 grams in various developed countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“Despite high consumption of protein, the US is still providing subsidy of over $1 billion dollars per day on food security,” Kamal said.
