Matia upbeat on poultry exports

FE Report
Agriculture minister Begum Matia Chowdhury Thursday expressed her hope that Bangladesh's poultry sector will be able to export poultry products in the near future.
"Exports of poultry products in near future are possible if the industry people have dedication, innovation, hard work and mindset to compete in the global market," she said.
Her optimism came at the inaugural ceremony of the three-day 9th World Poultry Show and Seminar 2015 being held in the city.
The minister said Bangladeshi processed or half processed poultry meat has made their way to upscale hotels of Bangladesh, which used to import chicken meat.
She said the caretaker government in 2007-8 deferred to adopt avian influenza vaccine for birds, for which the sector suffered a lot.
She said the present government has given permission for vaccination of the birds, which has helped reduce bird flu and has made the sector more vibrant.
The agriculture minister said the government is very much aware of the poultry feed production from tannery wastes.
"We've almost removed all illegal manufacturers of poultry feed units, as a result the consumers are now enjoying safe egg and meat," she said.
Turning to the political issue, the minister said that the country is passing through unusual situation, which she called a 'political flu'.
"And we will combat this flu in a civilised way by including the people and progressive policy," she said.
Presenting a paper, director of Nourish Poultry Shamsul Arefin Khaled said lower productivity and onslaught of diseases are holding back the growth of the poultry sector.
The paper said higher production cost is also a major obstacle.
High bank interest rate, import dependence on machinery and raw materials of feed are key reasons behind the hike in output cost, the paper revealed.    
"Poor marketing infrastructure is another barrier to development of the poultry sector," the paper said.
The paper said that retailers gain 46 per cent of the profits while the wholesalers get 23 per cent, but the poultry farmers got only a little.
Agriculture secretary Md Eunusur Rahman attended the event as the special guest, chaired by WPSA-BB president Moshiur Rahman.       
Abu Lutfe Fazle Rahim Khan, vice president of WAPSA-BB delivered the vote of thanks at the inaugural session, also addressed by Rofiqul Islam, secretary of the WPSA-BB.
The show is at boosting poultry production and trading in the country.
Agriculture secretary Eunusur Rahman said the crop sector has achieved a tremendous growth in the country since the independence by the joint efforts of the government and the farmers.
He said the non-crop sector like fisheries and poultry also have helpd in the socio-economic development.
A comprehensive development of the farm sector is needed for the overall development of the country, he said.
Ajay Kumar Roy, director general of the Department of Livestock Services said the country per capita poultry meat intake is only 18 gram while deficit is 23 gram per head.
He said the poultry industry has done a tremendous job by recording a 15 per cent year-on-year growth for last one and half decades.
"The sector will be able to supply the required meat in future", he said, but laid emphasis on quality poultry food.
President of WPSA Dr E.N. Silva said lowering the production cost of the poultry feed can help get poultry meat and egg at cheaper rate.  
Secretary of WPSA Dr R.W. A.W Mulder said among the 8, 000 members across the 80 countries, Bangladesh is now the largest brand in the globe for the poultry industry.
He said this poultry technology show will bring together the industry players, investors, inventors, and policy makers, which will help increase productivity and also help increase intake of poultry food.
A total of 147 companies from home and abroad have been participating in the show and seminar, organised by the World's Poultry Science Association-Bangladesh Branch (WPSA-BB), which is being held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the city.
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