DHAKA, July 24, 2018 (BSS) – The country has achieved self-sufficiency in poultry feed production, fulfilling the domestic demand without importing from abroad.
“About 55 to 56 lakh metric tons of poultry feed is produced in the country annually against the total demand of 60 lakh metric tons. Besides, some poultry farms themselves produce their required feed that helps the country meet the total demand without importing from abroad,” Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB) General Secretary Ahsanuzzaman told BSS.
There are 150 registered feed mills under the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) while 77 under the FIAB and 128 unregistered mills in the country, he said.
More than 100,000 people are employed in the poultry feed mills, Ahsanuzzaman said, adding the total amount of investment in the poultry feed production sector is now about Taka 12,000 crore.
Terming maize and soybean oil cake as the two essential ingredients of poultry feed, the FIAB general secretary said currently 60 per cent of the required maize and 50 per cent of soybean oil cake is imported from abroad.
He, however, said increasing customs tariff on the import of finished poultry feed from 5 per cent to 10 per cent in 2017-18 fiscal is playing a positive role in protecting the domestic feed mills.
Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC) Vice-President Shamsul Arefin said Antibiotic Growth Promoter (AGP)-free poultry feed is being now produced in Bangladesh.
Although the highest poultry producing countries Brazil, United State of America (USA) and China could not stop the use of AGP, Bangladesh could it, he said.
Besides, the heavy metal problem in poultry has come down to about zero level in the country, Arefin added.