Call to establish new slaughterhouse in capital

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari Tuesday said a new slaughterhouse is a longstanding demand of the business community of the meat sector for enhancing their trade and ensuring the supply of fresh meat to their customers.

He urged the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in consultation with the stakeholders to establish a state-of-the-art slaughterhouse in the vicinity of the federal capital to promote trade and exports of meat products, besides establishing a separate market for the poultry sector to boost its business activities.

He said this while addressing a delegation of the All-Pakistan Jamiatul Quresh Meat Welfare Association that visited ICCI led by its President Khursheed Ahmed Qureshi. Javed Qureshi, Senior Vice President, Sardar Zaheer Ahmed, Secretary General, and others were in the delegation.

Bakhtawari said Pakistan has good potential to export Halal meat products to the Gulf region and many other countries and stressed that the business community should focus on the value-addition of products to improve exports.

He assured that the ICCI would cooperate with the Meat Welfare Association to address the key issues of the business community.

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Speaking on the occasion, Khursheed Ahmed Qureshi briefed the ICCI president about the key issues being faced by the business community of the meat sector and hoped that ICCI would take up them with relevant authorities for redress.

He stressed the need for a new slaughterhouse for the federal capital and urged that the government focus on resolving the issues of the poultry sector. He said the livestock sector plays an important role in the economy as it contributes over 60 per cent to agriculture, and over 11 per cent to GDP, as well as provides livelihood to rural families as they derive 35-40 per cent of their income from this source.

He urged the government to cooperate in the value addition of the livestock sector that would help boost its exports and contribute to reviving the economy.

All-Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran President Ajmal Baloch and others also spoke on the occasion and urged the government to focus on resolving the issues of livestock and poultry sectors to facilitate better growth of their business activities and exports.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2023.