Poultry industry sets sight on export markets

Bangladesh's poultry industry has started getting ready to leave its footprint in the global export market as it has already introduced good international practices, insiders have said.

Government officials said they were working on guidelines and amending the existing poultry policy to facilitate the exports to overseas markets.

Besides, the government has also a plan to declare some areas as "poultry industrial zones" for ensuring high bio-security and establishing world standard production procedures, they said.

"We are preparing a guideline for the local industry to fulfill protocols of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). It will help the local industry get international certificates for the export," said Dr ABM Khaleduzzaman, Assistant Director of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS).

"We will also put in place a compartmentalisation system in different areas of the country where poultry industries will get special focus for maintaining their international practices in production. It will help Bangladesh bring it to the international market," he told the FE.

Some local poultry industry owners said they already introduced the international standard production system aiming to grab the global export markets for poultry feed, meat and eggs.

Shamsul Arefin Khaled, director of the poultry industry NOURISH, told the FE that they had set up international standard poultry feed mills, meat, egg, day-old-chick (DOC) production units and processed food unit with sights set on the global export markets.

"We have already got the HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points) and some other good management practice certificates which will help us take our products to the international market," he added.

Mr Shamsul A Khaled said if the government works together with the local poultry industry for ensuring good management practices, provides some tax benefits for making them competitive producers and improves the capacity of the Chattogram seaport, the poultry industry will be able to start export within a short period.

"We have already targeted the Indian seven-sister states (seven northern states), Myanmar, Malaysia and Middle-Eastern markets as the possible export destinations," he added.

"Our feed mills have already started production following all the bio-security and other standard practices. We will soon start export of poultry feed to India," the NOURISH Director said.

Mashiur Rahman, owner of the Paragoan Group, said they had been trying to follow the good management practices in their poultry feed, meat and egg production units targeting not only the local markets but also the export markets overseas.

"The Halal food across the globe including Malaysia, and Middle-Eastern nations are very popular at this moment. Bangladesh's poultry producers are trying to enter those markets as many of them are working to get the Halal certificates," Mr Mashiur, also President of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC), said.

If the government comes forward with proper policy and tax-related supports, the local industry would be able to secure the competitive edge in the world market, he told the FE.

Mr Rahman said, "The government should declare some areas poultry zones where the bio-security and other international practices will be ensured. It will help give the global market a positive message about Bangladesh's poultry industry which will help raise our exports."

Dr. Munzur Murshid Khan, Secretary General of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA), said some large poultry industries were taking preparation for export.

They already started production following better bio-security and international good practices, he told the FE.

The poultry industry leaders urged the government to work with the local producers to find their niche in the export markets.

The local poultry industry is supplying the major portion of the domestic protein requirement.

Industries claimed that the size of the country's poultry industry rose to nearly Tk 250 billion creating 20 per cent of the jobs. Its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) accounted for nearly 2.4 per cent.

According to the BPICC 2015 data, the local industry could produce nearly 7.12 billion eggs, 574,629 tonnes of meat, 2.9 million tonnes of feed and Tk 33.30 billion worth of medicine annually.

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