Govt stresses animal protein export

The government is putting emphasis on the export of animal protein and providing the sector’s entrepreneurs with tax exemption and other facilities, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim said on Tuesday.

“Maintaining quality and safety is the challenge. To meet this challenge, the government established a laboratory to ensure international quality of raw materials and finished goods production related to poultry, dairy and fisheries,” he said at a regional policy level meeting on formulation of animal protein trade expansion guideline and policy, organised by SAARC agriculture centre (SAC).

He said Bangladesh is self-sufficient in meat and egg production and hoped that the country would achieve self-sufficiency in milk production within four to five years.

About the South Asian countries, the minister said that Bangladesh and some other SAARC countries are self-sufficient in animal protein production.

They produce surplus in some cases. These countries may contribute to maintaining global protein supply chain by exporting their surplus production.

Bangladesh is number one in Hilsha production, third in rice production, fish production in inland open fish farming and vegetable production, fourth in black Bengal goat production, fifth in stagnant water fish farming, and sixth in potato production.