LAHORE, June 15: The government’s recent decision to allow duty-free import of vegetables and livestock from neighbouring countries will have disastrous implications for the farming sector in the country. This was consensus among the participants of a joint meeting of the Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) standing committees on livestock and market, held here on Wednesday.

The meeting was called to discuss and review the impact of federal government’s recent decision to import potatoes, onions and tomatoes, besides animals.

It suggested that the government should allow duty-free import of fertilizers, pesticides, agri-equipment, tractors and seed of selected crops, to lower the cost of production for local farmers which would help ensure cut in the prices of essential kitchen items in the domestic market.

The meeting observed that the decision to import animals seemed unjustified since the Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2003-04, indicated that the livestock was surplus by 8 per cent.

The livestock sector had been the single largest private sector of the country involving huge investment by million of landless and small farmers, mainly depending upon the incomes from their livestock, it observed. Any price depression in livestock in the domestic market would immediately slash their already meagre incomes.

The step would also hamper the government’s efforts to alleviate poverty from rural areas.

It was pointed out that import of Indian beef cattle would provide an opportunity to New Delhi to accelerate its breed improvement programme by exporting culled stock of cows to Pakistan which was not in demand in their domestic market due to religious prohibition. It would also retard the momentum of investment in beef and mutton production at home.

It was apprehended that the imported cattle might carry various contagious diseases like foot and mouth at sub-clinical stage, which could affect the country’s livestock as well.

The participants feared that the slump caused in the domestic livestock market by such imports might hit the professional as well as traditional livestock owners and the number of defaults of agri-loans and government dues would shoot up.

They were of the view that provision of relief to the urban poor living above poverty line (10 per cent of the total population) at the cost of squeezing incomes of the rural poor living below the poverty line (more than 50 per cent of the total population) did not make sense.

They were apprehensive that the duty-free imports would turn the trade balance in favour of India in addition to decrease in country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Indian farmers had been getting heavy subsidies on fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, electricity and agricultural equipment and their cost of production had been lower, they pointed out.

“Pakistani farmers get zero subsidy, rather pay GST on inputs and electricity, and have a higher cost of production. This would make Pakistani farmers uncompetitive in the international trade. Indian government is not only paying production subsidies but gives export rebates as well,” the meeting observed.

Opposing the unilateral duty-free import of agricultural commodities, the meeting suggested that India should be engaged in bilateral or reciprocal trade agreements ensuring a level playing field for Pakistani farmers. The local farmers should be protected by levying anti-dumping, countervailing duties or safeguards as already being provided to some industries in the country, the meeting observed.