Kolkata, Feb 9 (PTI) The West Bengal government intends to become self-sufficient in egg production by December 2023, Animal Resources Development Department Minister Swapan Debnath said on Thursday.

The government is ready to offer more support to the industry to achieve the milestone, he said.

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However, industry experts believe this assertion is too optimistic.

"We are self-reliant in meat production as it is 135 per cent of our demand. We are exporting our surplus meat. We have set a target to become self-reliant in egg production by December 2023 and asked the industry to ramp up production,” Debnath said.

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Currently, the state produces 1203 crore eggs and the shortfall is 237 crore eggs, the minister said at the inauguration of the Kolkata International Poultry Fair.

West Bengal Poultry Federation (WBPF) general secretary Madan Mohan Maity said they are working towards the goal set by the government.

"Projects totalling 12 lakh birds layer poultry farming (layer poultry farming is meant for eggs) are underway in the current and next fiscal years and once commercial production begins from these new farms, the state will be able to meet its own egg demand and would not have to import from South India,” Maity said.

He said the poultry industry has generated employment of 30 lakh and the goal is to increase this to 50 lakh. The investment in the poultry industry of the state is Rs 6500 crore, he said.

WBPF officials said the government target is not in line with reality but self-reliance can be achieved by 2024.

The poultry fair where stakeholders from various states and overseas are taking part will continue till Sunday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)