Dairy farmers want ban on meat imports

The Bangladesh Dairy Farmers' Association (BDFA) has demanded a ban on the import of meat and cut in animal feed price to protect local farmers.

The BDFA leaders placed their 10-point demand at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday.

Mohammad Imran Hossain, president of BDFA, said, "Although the country is self-sufficient in meat production, meat is being imported in large volumes every month. We demand that the authorities concerned stop doing this as it is harming the local farmers."

Moreover, the price of animal feed has created new pressure on the dairy farmers who are on the brink of collapse.

BDFA General Secretary Md Shah Emran told The Business Standard, "Farmers have faced huge losses as they have not received fair prices for their products. Meanwhile, fodder has become scarce because of flooding. Exploiting this opportunity, industrial producers have been increasing the price of animal feed by creating a syndicate."

The livestock farmers demanded that the authorities concerned control the price of animal feed by supplying it through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, halt the import of meat, charge electricity bill and land taxes under the agriculture sector, rebate income tax for 20 years, and raise the import duty for bulk field milk to 100% by imposing an anti-dumping tax.

They further demanded the authorities increase setting up powdered milk plants in the country, stop producing unhealthy condensed milk, provide easy bank loans with low interest without any collateral, form a dairy board, and make the access to vaccine, medicine and medical services for animals easier.

The farmers said there are around eight lakh dairy and livestock farmers in the country. The number of dairy farmers in the country has more than doubled in the last eight years. Around two crore people are involved in the business. Bangladesh has become self-sufficient in milk production as milk production in the country almost tripled in that period.

According to sources, 1,885 tonnes of meat were imported to the country in 2018, while 4,999 tonnes were imported in 2019. In the fiscal year 2018-19, frozen meat worth $20.5 million was imported, mostly from India, Nepal and Myanmar.

Sources said the imported meat is sold at a price less than half that of local meat. So, demand for this meat is increasing at hotels and restaurants.

Currently, each kilogramme of locally produced beef is sold at Tk550-580 on the market in Dhaka.

According to the Department of Livestock Services, there is an option for businesses to import meat by securing permission on a case-by-case basis.

Meanwhile, the Rapid Action Battalion seized a huge volume of expired meat from a cold storage facility last year. Since then, dairy farmers have been demanding that the authority impose control over meat imports.