ISLAMABAD, July 8: The poultry industry has urged the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock to take the decision of a five-year tax-holiday for small and medium poultry farms in the next meeting of the Federal Poultry Advisory Board.

The demand was made by a delegation of the Pakistan Poultry Association, Punjab, headed its chairman Raza Mohammad Khursand, in a meeting with Food and Agriculture Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan here on Saturday.

The government in the budget 2006-07 had announced a five-year tax holiday for the poultry industry.

The delegation was of the view that the poultry industry needed greater attention from the government, as it had suffered over Rs10 billion losses in the recent bird flu crisis. They welcomed the relief for the poultry industry in the budget. However, they said tax-holiday for small and medium poultry farmers was must to ensure rehabilitation of the industry from the crisis at the grass roots level.

The association also demanded that the board should ensure that soft loans to small and medium poultry farms are sanctioned. They suggested that the Wapda should charge poultry farms and hatcheries with the same tariffs it was charging with other industrial units.