Ludhiana poultry farmers oppose hike in market fee of pearl millet
According to the poultry farmers, the hike in tax has increased their expenses as pearl millet is the major ingredient to feed birds
Poultry farmers in Punjab have expressed their disappointment over the six percent hike in the market fee of pearl millet levied by the state government.
The representatives of poultry farmers met agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal in Chandigarh on Friday and urged him to revoke the tax on pearl millets.
Bhupinder Singh, member of Progressive Poultry Farmers’ Association, who was part of the delegation, said that the minister has assured them that he will take up the issue with the chief minister.
According to the poultry farmers, the hike in tax has increased their expenses as pearl millet is the major ingredient to feed birds, while on the other hand, the price of eggs has not been increased.
Mohinder Arora, president of Progressive Poultry Farmers Association, said that they are forced to spend ₹30,000 to ₹50,000 more for a truck of millet.
He said that the government had levied six percent market fee on pearl millet six months ago and the poultry farmers came to know about it when the taxmen stopped the vehicles carrying millets on state borders to collect taxes.
“Poultry farmers in Punjab procure pearl millets from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana for ₹2,000 to ₹2,100 per quintal. The industry has just recovered from losses caused during lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, but the government has levied another tax,” Arora said.
“Daily 1.10 crore eggs are produced in Punjab, which are sold in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, besides Punjab. Rates of eggs are decided from Delhi, which is less, while the input cost has been increasing,” he added.
He said that states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, are giving subsidies to set up poultry farms, while nothing is being done to boost the poultry farm business in Punjab.
