Chicken cost: Poultry industry flaps wings over latest taxes

Say fresh duties to deter sales and increase prices by 25%.

LAHORE: Pakistan Poultry Association (North Zone chairman) Muhammad Mustafa Kamal has warned the government that duties imposed on the poultry sector could increase prices by up to 25% and might dent the Rs700-billion industry.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Kamal said that the new budget has demoralised and depressed poultry farmers because the government has slapped 5% sales tax on all types of poultry feeds while 10% duty has been imposed on import of soybean along with 10% sales tax on it.

“The heavy duty on import of soybean meal is not logical because it is a raw material of the poultry industry, which is not produced in the country,” he said.

He said that 25% tax on poultry feeds will deprive the poor of a cheap source of animal protein at affordable prices. If the industry passes on this 25% additional cost to consumers they will be unable to purchase the expensive poultry products, he added.

The government’s move of taxing food products is in fact a blow to food security in the country where around 66% of the people are deficient in protein.

With the continuous depletion of supply of red meat, poultry is the cheapest available animal protein for the masses, which constitutes 35-40% of total meat production in the country — an effective check upon the spiralling animal protein prices. Poultry sector is one of the largest agro based segment of Pakistan having an investment of Rs700 billion.

However, despite all constraining factors, the growth rate of this sector is 10-12% per annum.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2015.

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