Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday called upon local
entrepreneurs to produce halal foods to meet the growing global demand
in the segment.
"We are yet to focus on an area and that is halal food. The market
size of halal foods globally is bigger than that of garments at nearly
$500 billion," said Kamal at a roundtable at Bangabandhu International
Conference Centre in Dhaka.
Bangla-language business daily Bonik Barta organised the discussion
on the role of the livestock sector in poverty alleviation. Its Editor
Dewan Hanif Mahmud moderated the discussion.
"You can form joint ventures with foreign firms in countries that have made strides in the halal food segment," Kamal said.
The global halal market is estimated at $2.3 trillion with 67 percent
of the market, or $1.4 trillion, consisting of food and beverages,
according to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Citing cattle sales worth Tk 19,229 crore ahead of Eid-ul-Azha every year, he said this is a huge market.
Kamal also called upon businesses to go for ventures under public-private partnership to develop the country's livestock sector.
Analysts said an inadequate supply of vaccines and improved breeds,
dearth of field level staff at the Department of Livestock Services,
absence of cattle disease diagnostic centres and inadequate financing
are major barriers to livestock development.
"We are yet to evaluate the importance of the livestock sector. We
can get more benefits than other countries by considering it as an
industry," Kamal said.
Bangladesh has more than 2.5 crore cattle and is producing more than 60 lakh tonnes of milk a year.
However, the country has to import powder milk to meet its domestic requirement.
Kamal said 56 percent of the local requirement for milk and milk
products is met through imports. "We can reduce import by giving
priority to the sector."
The government recently approved some projects to promote development
of the livestock sector, he said. The sector will not only provide
nutrition but also generate jobs and boost export, he added.
Kazi Abdul Fattah, a former director general of the Department of
Livestock Services, said strengthening the department with adequate
manpower is needed immediately. Capacity building is also necessary, he
said.
FH Ansarey, executive director of ACI Ltd, stressed the need to
increase productivity in cattle rearing to reduce costs of production.
Pasturelands are not essential for cattle farming as cattle can be reared in a confined environment, he added.
"We see a frequent occurrence of diseases. The extent of diseases
will decline if farmers are trained on hygiene practices," he said.
He also called for giving soft loans to establish disease diagnostic centres for cattle in the suburbs.
Moshiur Rahman, convener of Bangladesh Poultry Industries
Coordination Committee, said the government's permission to import
vaccines enabled the poultry sector to remain free from the avian
influenza in the last couple of years.
"Suddenly, the livestock department has stopped giving clearance to
import vaccines, although imports have not been banned," he said, adding
that no permit was given to import vaccines in the last four months.
Fazle Rahim Khan Shahriar, managing director of Aftab Bahumukhi
Farms, and M Anisur Rahman, chief operating officer of Pran Dairy Ltd,
also spoke.
