Quality Feed is a must for producing quality egg, meat, milk & fish; and to ensure good quality feed production, the manufacturers need to source best quality raw materials especially soybean, soybean meal and maize. U.S. soy is at the forefront of providing high quality, reliable and sustainable source of protein- speakers said in a Stakeholders Meet on Saturday.
Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC) in association with the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) organized the meeting.
Shamsul Arefin Khaled, president, BPICC and the Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB) said that the country is meeting its demand for poultry, aqua, dairy and cattle feeds from local production. The industry has achieved high-end feed quality over the period which has made possible to export its products to neighboring countries like India and Nepal.
He said to ensure the product’s excellence, FCR and performance- the industry needs reliable and quality soybean & soybean meal which are mainly imported from USA, Brazil and Argentina. Kevin Roepke, Regional Director for South Asia and Sub-saharan Africa, USSEC said that a country's economic growth is linked to the health and wellbeing of its people. It's been proven that protein is directly linked with cognitive development. Referring to the World Food Program Kevin said, around 11 million people suffer from acute hunger in Bangladesh. This nutrition deficiency can be covered by providing access to affordable nutritious and high quality protein. Referring to a “Bangladesh Protein Perception Study”, conducted by USSEC, Deeba Giannoulis, Head of U.S. Soy Sustainability & Marketing, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (SAASSA) said, that majority of Bangladeshis are unaware of how much protein is needed in everyday meals. 62% consumers identified cereal (dal) as a high-source of protein. Khabibur Rahman, USSEC Team-Lead Bangladesh said, the Right to Protein is a global campaign that aims to raise awareness about the importance of protein in human nutrition and advocate for access to quality protein for all individuals.
Moderator of the meeting, Md. Sirajul Hoque, Senior Vice-president, World’s Poultry Science Association- Bangladesh Branch (WPSA-BB) said that Bangladesh is producing around 7.5 to 8 million metric tons of feed annually.
