Govt proposes increasing fisheries and livestock budget by Tk 244 crore

Keeping the growing demand of protein intake in mind for an increasing population, the government today proposed to increase the budget for fisheries and livestock by Tk 244 crore from the last fiscal year.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today proposed Tk 3,437 crore for the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock for the upcoming fiscal year. It was Tk 3,193 crore in the last proposed budget.

To promote local farmers, the government also proposed to expand the existing facilities for fisheries, poultry, and dairy sectors.

"I propose to increase the tariff on processed meat imports and set a minimum value to protect the domestic meat processing industry and cattle farmers," he said.

While this sector is meeting the domestic demand for meat, it is also earning foreign exchange by exporting fish, fish products, and animal products, he said.

The finance minister said that the mobile market system was introduced to facilitate the marketing of fish and fish products and animal and livestock products.

"An amount of Tk 7,286 crore worth of fish, meat, milk, eggs, and other fisheries and livestock products have been sold between April 2020 and December 2020 through mobile and online sales system," he added.

Pointing out the crisis of availability of skilled human resources and the importance of small entrepreneurs, the government aims to give tax exemption to the relevant vocational and diploma institutions.

Kamal proposed tax exemption, on certain conditions, for ten years to institutions established to impart all sorts of diploma and vocational education on agriculture, fisheries, animal health and production service, clothing and garment finishing, and poultry farming.

"This incentive will hopefully make a positive impact on building skilled and trained human resources, and will also open up a new horizon for industrialization," he added.