LAHORE: Meat exporters seek soft loans and subsidies, foot-and-mouth disease-free zones and restricted animal feed export.

In written recommendations submitted to the caretaker chief minister of Punjab, the All-Pakistan Meat Exporters & Processors Association says the government should provide soft loans to the meat industry and land on lease for animal breeding and fattening farms to ensure sustainable supplies in future.

It suggests a couple of more initiatives on the financial front that include increasing e-form reporting time from the current 21 days to 60 days as per international practice, abolishing sales tax on packed meat, subsidy on energy tariff and entry to new markets.

It also seeks to restart the Duty Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) scheme and open bank branches at local animal markets.

It also desires a ban or restriction on the export of animal feed to make it affordable for the local livestock sector.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2023