By Faiza Tehseen ISLAMABAD, Feb 03 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan can earn handsome foreign exchange and also improve the livelihoods of its citizens by awarding the collection and processing of birds’ feathers the status of cottage industry to generate value addition. Farmers can be motivated to start duck and goose farming as they can get good value against their meat, guts and feathers etc. As a large proportion of Pakistan’s labour force is related to farming and livestock, they can be made aware of the trade value of feathers. Training programmes should be launched regarding feathers collection, segregation, cleaning, disinfecting and quality packing. Promotion of cottage industry as part of the small and medium enterprises in feather production can play a big part in generating employment and economic prosperity. Feathers have been used for multiple purposes like pillow and toys stuffings, in making of diapers, insulations, upholstery padding, paper, plastic articles, feather meal, fertilisers, craft items, costumes and beauty products. In 2019, the global market of down, the feathers found on the underbelly of birds, and feathers with quills valued at $2666.9 million, which is estimated to grow to $3472.5 million by 2026 at the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8%. In 2019, feathers and down used for stuffing were the world’s most traded product ranked at no 1,335 with a total trade volume of $1.94 billion. According to the first schedule of Pakistan Customs Tariff (Page 34), the country traded both the collected and down feathers under HS code 0505.1000 with the title head of “feathers (of a kind used for stuffing) and down (not further worked than cleaned, disinfected or treated for preservation)” to China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Germany, the United States, Korea and a few other countries. According to the COMTRADE database, Pakistan traded feathers of a kind and down worth $233.4 million during the year 2020. It is shown in the following bar chart. Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/pakistan/exports/bird-skin-feathers-artificial-flowers-human-hair Pakistan exported animal products, feathers and down to China ($956 million, 709,457kg), Vietnam ($278 million, 255,025kg), Malaysia ($115 million, 81,874kg), Germany ($60 million, 43,000kg) and the United States ($4.82 million, 4,120kg), according to the World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solutions (WITS) 2019. The most valuable product is down feathers as they are obtained from the breast area of birds. Most of the commercial feather products are the combination of both down and upper feathers. But the higher the proportion of down, the higher the product’s value is. The down and feather market of duck and goose is expected to register a compound annual growth of 6.72% till 2025.