Mozambican Agriculture Minister Helder Muteia said in Maputo on Thursday that the government is to impose stricter control and inspections on chicken imports, to make sure that the product has a health certificate from the country of origin, reports Friday's issue of the daily paper "Noticias".
He said that any importer found to be violating the norms will be subject to sanctions, including the cancellation of his license.
Muteia was speaking during a meeting with poultry farmers where they presented their sector's problems to the government to try and find solutions.
He said that the government decided to take this measure because it was found that most importers of animal products are not abiding by the established norms, which prejudices both consumers and Mozambican producers.
It was also found that, not only are some of those products not inspected, but they are also smuggled into the country.
The legal norms establish that all imported animal produce should bear a certificate from the country of origin stating that it is not contaminated with any disease.
The poultry farmers complained to Muteia that most imported products are of very poor quality but, because they are sold at low prices they flood the market, competing unfairly against Mozambican produce.
The farmers also complain of the poor quality of the animal feed available locally, and they blame the supplier, the company Higest. Higest's lawyer, Maximo Dias, acknowledged that there was a time when it supplied feed that led to the death of some chickens in certain farms, because it was contaminated. He said this resulted from the import of contaminated raw materials.
He said, however, that those farmers who were affected were all compensated, and that Higest is open to dealing with any other cases that may eventually be detected.
Muteia promised that controls will be enforced, not only in the import of chickens, but also on the quality of feed supplied to the farmers.
"We are also committed to reopening the Matola slaughterhouse and we will support the setting up of a Credit Bank by the Maputo General Union of Cooperatives (the largest poultry producer in the south of the country), so that it may allocate resources to render sustainable the activities of the poultry farmers", he said.
Muteia also called for the setting up of an agricultural insurance scheme, and advised the farmers to establish partnerships with Mauritius business people, who want to invest in Mozambique in this area.
Fonte: AIM
