The National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce has directed the Ministry of Commerce to revisit the country’s livestock export policy while expressing grave concerns over the ban on livestock, especially poultry and its allied products.

The Committee held its 26th meeting at the Parliament House with Member of National Assembly Syed Naveed Qamar in the chair.

The Committee was informed that, as per directives of the Committee, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of National Food Security & Research were in touch and were holding sessions with all the stakeholders concerned to resolve the issue. However, the matter of ban on poultry and its products was in the court of law.

The Chair observed that the ban resulted in a failure to meet the export orders, causing huge losses to exporters in particular and the industry as a whole. He said it would also provide other countries the chance to come in and fill the gap. The Committee directed the Ministry of Commerce to peruse the case as a top priority.

The Committee considered “The Trade Organizations (Amendment) Act 2021”, moved by Ms. Sajida Begum MNA, and referred by the National Assembly on 10th August 2021. Secretary Ministry of Commerce Sualeh Ahmad Faruqi informed the Committee that the proposed amendments to the Act, including an increase in the tenure of the Chambers and other organizations, were under consideration with the Ministry of Law and Justice.

After a detailed discussion, the Committee decided to invite the relevant stakeholders, especially the current President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Mian Nasser Hayat Magoon and former President FPCCI in the next meeting.

The Committee also considered pension and gratuity for the employees of Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute (PCSI) and directed the Ministry to look into the issue as soon as possible.

The Committee unanimously approved the minutes of its previous meeting.

The meeting was attended by Members of National Assembly Mr. Muhammad Yaqoob Shaikh, Mr. Khurram Shehzad, Ms. Wajiha Qamar, Ms. Sajida Begum, Mrs. Farukh Khan, Mr. Usman Ibrahim, Rana Iradat Sharif Khan, Mr. Rasheed Ahmed Khan, Mrs. Tahira Aurangzeb, Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, and Syed Javed Ali Shah Jelani.

Source: Pro Pakistani