Poultry Industry Seeks Aid In The Face Of Qr Lifting

Leaders of poultry farmers and leaders of various political parties have sought the intervention of the Union government in protecting the local farmers from the impeding opening of the domestic market for poultry meat, eggs and other poultry products under the World Trade Organisation agreement next year.

At a large poultry farmers' rally which was attended by thousands of poultry farmers from different parts of the country and addressed by political heavyweights such as Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party and Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and Anuradha Desai, chairperson of Venkateshwara Hatcheries group, concern was expressed over the possibility of large scale dumping of poultry products by US and other countries.

 

The main concern over the likely dumping of poultry products was the impact it will have on rural India where the poultry industry has brought about some prosperity and generated employment for nearly 16 lakh people.

"We need some protection for our poultry farmers even though I support economic reforms and all other reforms. It is my personal commitment to the poultry industry and farmers - not only farmers of Andhrra Pradesh, but farmers from all over India that I will take up this issue with the central government and see that our farmers would stand up to the emerging world competition and the country becomes a poultry giant," Naidu said.

Naidu underlined the need the balance the poultry output with the market demand by the pultry farmers to avoid surplus production. Under his "Vision 2020". Andhra Pradesh had trageted to become the country's poultry giant and the state will be largest supplier of low-cost, quality eggs and broilers to the nation.

Andhra Pradesh is the largest egg producing state in the country accounting for one third of the country's total egg output- 1,196 crore eggs per annum. The state also has an 18 per cent market share of the total domestic broiler meat production.

"The state's information technolgy drive will help poultry industry as we go in for inetworking and set up cold storage chain, "Naidu said. Pawar suggested that the Union government should impose taxes on the pultry product imports as was done in the case of sugar import so as to protect local farmers.

Pawar, however, emphasised the need to improve productivity, effciency toface international competition as the poultry farmers still have one more year.