Vice President of Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) Ahmad Jawad has raised a requirement that cold storages be given tax exemptions on the manufacturing of cold storages for the period of next ten years before the approval of the federal budget.
According to his statement this is the need of the hour to ensure food security in the country and increase perishable exports. Ahmad Jawad has demanded that the federal government provides exemption from taxes and General Sales Tax on the manufacturing of cold storages for the period of next ten years.
In Pakistan, cold storages are filled only with potatoes and apples most of the time. Similarly, there is no food processing industry to increase storage life. “This is needed not only to reduce food losses which are significant in Pakistan, but also to help farmers get better incentives and income, better document the value chain, increase credit to farm economies and help achieve overall competitiveness in the country’s rural sector,” said Jawad.
He emphasised the fact that if government successfully makes such measures for the cool chain, country’s horticulture exports have the potential to increase up to tenfold which would be great addition to national exchequer.
