October 1, 2004

Namibia To End Chicken Shortages

The Namibian government has agreed to relax the ban on the import of the white meat from South Africa.

This follows a two-month ban on the import of all poultry products following an outbreak of bird flu among ostriches in South Africa.

As of yesterday, local importers have been allowed to import poultry meat originating from birds produced on farms under regular surveillance by South African authorities and slaughtered at approved abattoirs.

Two weeks ago, the government partially lifted the ban on the import of table eggs, hatching eggs and day-old chicks from approved sites.

The ban on the import of point-of-lay pullets (young hen), however, remains firmly in place for now, according to a statement issued by Government's Chief Veterinary Officer Archie Norval yesterday.

All importers must, however, still obtain a veterinary import permit.

No permits will be granted for products from establishments not approved for export by South African authorities.

Since the ban came into effect in July, local consumers have had to make do with purchasing whole frozen chickens - largely imports from Brazil.

As far as can be established, the avian flu did not affect chickens in South Africa. But the virus did lead to the slaughter of more than 18,000 ostriches in the Somerset East area where the disease broke out.

South African authorities are still trying to pinpoint the origin of the disease.