The poultry industry is on the verge of a feed crisis, with the government and importers at odds over soybean procurement.
Shehzad Ali Khan, President of the All Pakistan Solvent Extractors’ Association (APSEA), told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Food Security that the import ban on soybean seeds would harm the country’s poultry industry.
According to the APSEA CEO, soybeans are used in poultry feed. “We’ve been importing soybean seeds since 2015.” As of October 20, nine shipments of soybean seeds have been seized by customs officials at Port Qasim in Karachi. “If the shipment of soybean seeds is not permitted, it will have a negative impact on the country’s poultry industry,” he stated.
Tariq Bashir Cheema, the federal minister for national food security and research, reacted by stating that the shipments had been rightfully seized by customs officials because they were brought in against the law. Pakistan has banned the import of genetically modified organisms, “GMO soybeans cause cancer, and we will not allow their import,” he said.
The law only permits the import of non-GMO soybean, according to Cheema, who also asserted that the US ambassador had contacted him with a similar request. According to him, the federal cabinet meeting covered the same subject, and prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has established a committee to look into it.
While the food ministry considers the significance of this issue, industry players have previously warned that approximately 30,000 poultry farms may be forced to close due to a lack of clearance of 130,000 tonnes of soybean cargo worth Rs. 22 billion lying in the open sky at Port Qasim.
The poultry industry accounts for more than half of the country’s meat demand, and the scarcity of soybeans is causing chicken prices to rise, making it unaffordable for many.
