Poultry sector must gain easier access to cheap protein: FCCI

FAISALABAD – Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Senior Vice President Dr Sajjad Arshad has said the government should facilitate the poultry sector to provide cheap protein to the public.

Addressing the poultry farmers, he said that the poultry sector is on the verge of collapse as each poultry farmer is incurring a huge loss of Rs 7 crore. This loss has now become unbearable and if this situation continues, it would not only have a bad impact on the export of eggs and chicken meat but would also deprive the people of a cheap source of protein, which is easily available in Pakistan at affordable prices, he added. He said that Pakistan annually produces 17,500 million eggs and 1,440 million kilograms of chicken meat. In 2022, we exported 16.8 million eggs, while in 2024, 115,664 tonnes of chicken meat and chicken products were also exported.

He said that in Pakistan, the consumption rate of chicken meat is only 7.20 kilograms, while every Pakistani consumes only 88 eggs per year, which is far below the international standard. He expressed concern over some policies that are detrimental to the steady growth of the sector and said the recent introduction of sales tax has further worsened the situation, which would be the final nail in the coffin of the poultry sector.

He also expressed concern and said that farmers were exempted while sales tax was imposed on poultry farmers. He demanded that both the sectors should be treated equally and the sales tax imposed on the poultry sector could also be withdrawn.

He said that due to continuous losses, poultry farmers are consuming their real capital instead of earning money. He warned that farmers will not be able to add new chicks due to liquidity problems and poultry farms will also start closing down. “This situation will lead to acute shortage of chicken meat in the domestic markets,” he said, adding that 40% of our population is already facing the challenge of malnutrition while an equal number of children are at risk of stunted growth.

He added that the situation may worsen further and our next generation may be crippled due to lack of availability of protein and demanded that the government should review its policies and facilitate the poultry sector by ensuring availability of cheap protein so that Pakistan can raise a healthy generation that will be able to face emerging challenges.