DODOMA, Tanzania
Tanzania government has imposed a total ban on the importation of day-old chicks effective next week as it seeks to protect its local hatcheries and limit the inflow of substandard chicks.
The ban, which takes effect on
July 30, aims to protect the local poultry market, the Ministry of Livestock
and Fisheries said in a statement on Monday.
Deputy Minister for Livestock
and Fisheries, Abdallah Ulega said the government would no longer issue import
permits on chicken from Saturday.
This was after a meeting with
poultry business executives in the capital Dodoma.
The minister said that the government
is currently collecting poultry industry data to ascertain the demand for
day-old chicks.
Local poultry producers, had
decried the rise in smuggled chicks sold at lower prices.
Most incubators in the country
are selling day-old chicks at an average price of Tsh2,000 ($0.85), while the
smuggled chicks sell at Tsh1,200 ($0.5) per chick.
In 2016, Tanzania banned the
importation of chicks and fresh poultry meat from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, South
Africa and the US to protect local farmers.
On October 31, 2017,
government authorities in Arusha destroyed 6,400 chicks imported from Kenya
through the Namanga border crossing. The ban was later lifted.
Most of the day-old chicks are
imported from the United Kingdom and South Africa, with substantial quantities
imported from Kenya and Zambia. – The EastAfrican
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