THE National Government has banned the importation of all frozen chickens into the country upon advice from the National Agriculture & Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA).
The ban will come to effect starting from the end of this month (January) and will go on for the next couple of months.
Agriculture and Livestock Minister, Aiye Tambua announced this in a media conference yesterday.
Minister Tambua said the government is taking this action through his ministry as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the new affluenza disease called ‘bird flu’ into the country.
He said this action will protect the local industry from the disease (bird flu), and also give opportunity to local poultry farmers to step up to that market to meet the demand.
“We have now banned all importation of frozen chicken starting from the end of this month (January). Any orders that have already been placed will be allowed in, however, there will be no new orders thereafter,” Tambua said.
The minister said according to the advice from NAQIA, if the disease gets into the country, it will affect the local poultry industry.
“The government is concern that if this disease comes into the country, it will really kill the industry. It is therefore easier for us to ban the importation to protect our industry.
We do not have the capacity to revive the industry. Our poultry industry in the country worth almost a billion Kina,” Tambua explains.
With the ban on imports of all frozen chicken, the minister said Zenag and Table birds being the only two main suppliers in the country will surely see an increase of chicken price on the market in the next couple of months.
“We expect a little bit of price hick to happen probably in the next two or three months after the ban commences. We will also have short fall and that is okay.
I’ve received news from the two suppliers in Lae that the country will have more employed citizens. We expect two thousand people to start working in this industry,” Tambua said.
He said in order for the local suppliers to meet the demands, they will employ more people and this also gives opportunity to local poultry farmers to supply chicken to the market.
The minister added that almost two hundred million foreign exchange that goes to the frozen chicken import will now be saved.
Minister Tambua said the ban however, is not applicable on mechanically debone chickens that are imported by industries for them to re-produce other products like biscuits and other products.
