Published in Dhaka Tribune on Thursday, 24 December 2015
Poultry investment needs to be doubled to meet demand by 2021
Tribune Report
Bangladesh poultry industry will need an investment of Tk50-60,000 crore by 2021 to meet daily local demand of egg and meat, the entreprenuers said.
They sought cheaper funding opportunities so the sector could take up the challenge making the necessary investment.
They were speaking at a workshop titled “The challenges of animal protein demand by 2021: public-private policy planning” in Dhaka yesterday, organised by the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC).
Addressing the event, the trade analysts and the sector experts also supported the entrepreneurs’ call.
According to the local poultry industry people, Bangladesh, by 2021, will need to produce 45m pieces of egg and around 4,000 tonnes of meat daily.
“The poultry sector needs the government’s financial support to increase investment to Tk50,000 crore by 2021 from Tk25,000 crore now,” said BPICC Convenor Mashiur Rahman.
He said they were preparing for exporting their products and the government should simplify export certification system. The BPICC chief announced “Poultry Media Award” in March, 2016.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque sought to get loans at single-digit interest rate for the sector.
“The interest rate in the neighboring country is single-digit, so Bangladesh also should bring down the rate to a single-digit one to increase investment,” he said.
Sayedul Hoque said the poultry industry would play a vital role in supplying animal protein by the year 2021.
“In that case, the supply of eggs and meat will have to be increased as these are sources of cheap protien.”
Subir Boiragi, a research fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said Bangladesh’s poultry industry had been growing at 5% over the last few years, but it would be very tough to meet the demand of 2021 if the growth continued at the present rate.
“Innovative technology, government’s subsidy and having a strong data-base will help this sector expand further,” he emphasised.
FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad underscored the need to launch insurance system for the poultry sector as it suffered losses due to crises like bird-flu attack.
“Since the poultry sector is the best option at this moment to supply maximum protein at cheap prices, the government should give special focus on the expansion of the sector,” he said.
Shamsul Arefin Khaled, joint convenor of BPICC, urged the government to give some tax benefits to make the struggling industry sustainable.
Among the raw materials of the poultry industry, only corn is produced in Bangladesh. But the locally produced corn can meet 40% of the demand.
Although more than 50% of meat demand depends on import, the whole of egg demand is now met by local supplies.
Published in The Financial Express on Thursday, 24 December 2015
Poultry sector needs Tk 600b investment by 2021
Industry lobbyist pushes for duty-free feed import
FE Report
The country needs to invest upto Tk 600 billion (Tk 60,000 crore) in the poultry sector to meet the demand for 40 million pieces of eggs and 3,500-4,000 tonnes of chicken meat per day by 2021, industry people said Wednesday.
They suggested that the government allow duty-free import of poultry feed and reduce the income tax to 5.0 per cent from the existing 15 per cent on finished poultry feed products and reinstate land tax to Tk 2.0 per decimal from the existing Tk 150.
They also said public and private partnership is essential for the required amount of investment in the sector.
They said that among the raw materials for poultry sector, only maize is produced in the country which is only 40 per cent of the total demand. The rest of the raw materials needs to be imported at 5.0 per cent to 37 per cent import duty. The observations came at a workshop titled “Challenges to fulfil the demand of nutrition: Public-Private initiative for formulating plan” organised by Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC) at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) at Khamarbari in the city.
Convenor of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC) Moshiur Rahman presided over the meeting.
In his speech, Moshiur Rahman said the poultry sector supplies 40 to 45 per cent meat against the total demand of the country.
Research fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Subir Kanti Boiragi in his presentation suggested modernisation of poultry sector, proper management and more fund for research and development.
FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed stressed more investment in the poultry sector for nutrition and help the country become a middle-income nation by 2021. He called upon the government to reduce the taxes on the raw materials of the sector.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque said at present the country sees 70 per cent deficit in milk production, while 67 per cent in meat. He urged the poultry owners to go for artificial insemination in order to fulfil the demand.
Published in The News Today on Thursday, 24 December 2015
More investment in poultry sector demanded
Discussants at a workshop on Wednesday said investment in the poultry sector should be doubled to meet the demand of 4.5 crore pieces of eggs and 3.5 to 4 thousand tonnes of meat per day by 2021, reports BSS. There is an investment of Tk 25,000 crore until now which is required to be doubled by 2021 to fulfill the demand, said the poultry sector entrepreneurs at the inaugural session of a workshop on ‘Challenges of Animal Protein Demand by 2021: Public-Private Policy Planning’. Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC) arranged the event at the Krishibid Institute of Bangladesh in the capital, according to a BPICC press release. Attending the programme as chief guest, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque said high interest rate on bank loan is a problem for further investment in the poultry sector as the entrepreneurs want loan at single-digit interest rate. He hoped that the Finance Minister would consider the need for expansion of the local poultry sector by taking necessary actions to bring down the bank interest rate below 10 percent. Speaking at the programme, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Abdul Matlub Ahmad said the poultry industry should be taken under insurance coverage to make the business sustainable. Because of the invasion of bird-flu, the farmers sometimes have to destroy the chicken and other products to prevent the spread of the infection. For that reason they are eligible to get insurance, he added. BPICC convener Mashiur Rahman said public-private partnership and government’s further support is necessary to expand the poultry sector. He said the poultry sector has the potential to export meat and eggs after fulfilling the country’s demand, so the government should provide required assistance to the sector. Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) research fellow Dr Subir Bairagi and BPICC joint convener Shamsul Arefin Khaled also spoke at the programme.
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