Poultry sector investment may cross Tk 600b by 2021

Rezaul Karim | Published: January 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Investment in the country's poultry sector is expected to cross Tk 600 billion, creating employment for over 10 million people by 2021, officials said.
Considering the potential, the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) has sought Tk 90.53 million from the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) to expand its poultry sector-related activities, especially for developing weather-tolerant chicks, according to a BLRI letter.
Following these initiatives and some others already taken in public and private sectors the poultry sector will stand on a sound footing.
Under the steps, new species of poultry birds and grass have been developed, which have already created a positive impact on the sector, according to BLRI.
The MoFL officials said the demand for poultry items is gradually increasing, and the current trend will continue in days to come. It will increase investment in the sector significantly.
They said poultry sector is expanding, as fish cultivation is declining. Besides, people are switching to poultry as a source of animal protein.
During the last one and a half decade, purchasing power and food habit of people, both in urban and rural areas, have changed.
As a result, growth in consumption and subsequent demand for poultry items will continue in the coming years, they opined.
The government has taken initiatives to extend the breed development programme, the MoFL sources said.
"The government should take steps to advance the BLRI's research activities to double investment in poultry sector in next five years," a high official told the FE Friday.
A poultry association leader said per capita poultry meat consumption has increased by nearly 25 to 35 per cent over the last decade. The consumption will rise further in future due to expansion of economy.
There are 80,000 small and large commercial poultry farms, 41 breeding farms, and 20 large feed mills across the country. Some 3,000 grandparent and 1.52 million parent stocks are being produced by the private breeder companies, the BLRI statistics.
The poultry sector has so far fetched investment of around Tk 250 billion, and its annual turnover is Tk 300 billion. The sector has created job opportunities for around 6.5 million people.
The sector has been growing at an annual rate of around 20 per cent during the last one and half decades.