Govt partly eases ban on SA chicken imports

GOVERNMENT has agreed to allow local importers of poultry products to obtain certain supplies from five South African sites that have been identified as “safe”.

Chief Veterinary Officer Archie Norval said yesterday that they had been provided with a list of “safe sites” by South African authorities on Monday, from which Namibia could import. However the sites have only been approved for the import of hatched eggs, table eggs, frozen broiler chickens and day-old chicks.Norval said local traders could approach import permit offices to obtain supplies from these sites which are all in KwaZulu-Natal.This follows South Africa’s self-imposed ban on all poultry products following the recent outbreak of the deadly avian influenza among ostriches in the Eastern Cape.Namibian authorities immediately cancelled all import permits and refused to issue any for the import of poultry meat, eggs, live chicken, ostriches and other birds from South Africa until further notice.Namibian wholesale suppliers have been importing most of their chicken from Brazil since the ban, and supply on local shop shelves has been erratic.Norval said South African authorities were regularly monitoring poultry farms to ensure the virus has not spread and it is expected that the approved list of suppliers could grow over the next few weeks.Botswana and Lesotho are believed to have also agreed to allow imports from the approved poultry farms.Norval said officials from his office were regularly visiting local supermarkets to ensure that chicken on the shelves had been imported legally.One of Windhoek’s busiest supermarkets Wernhil’s Model Pick ‘n Pay has issued notices in its store apologising for the shortage and variety of chicken on their shelves.Store Manager John Vermeulen said yesterday that it was mostly able to supply its customers with whole frozen chickens and skinless chicken breasts.But he said it was difficult to offer customers chicken pieces and popular braai packs containing mixed pieces.Vermeulen said customers had mostly been understanding of the situation.Since the breakout of bird flu, South African authorities have culled several thousand ostriches as the disease spread across farms in the Cape.However the sites have only been approved for the import of hatched eggs, table eggs, frozen broiler chickens and day-old chicks.Norval said local traders could approach import permit offices to obtain supplies from these sites which are all in KwaZulu-Natal.This follows South Africa’s self-imposed ban on all poultry products following the recent outbreak of the deadly avian influenza among ostriches in the Eastern Cape.Namibian authorities immediately cancelled all import permits and refused to issue any for the import of poultry meat, eggs, live chicken, ostriches and other birds from South Africa until further notice.Namibian wholesale suppliers have been importing most of their chicken from Brazil since the ban, and supply on local shop shelves has been erratic.Norval said South African authorities were regularly monitoring poultry farms to ensure the virus has not spread and it is expected that the approved list of suppliers could grow over the next few weeks.Botswana and Lesotho are believed to have also agreed to allow imports from the approved poultry farms.Norval said officials from his office were regularly visiting local supermarkets to ensure that chicken on the shelves had been imported legally.One of Windhoek’s busiest supermarkets Wernhil’s Model Pick ‘n Pay has issued notices in its store apologising for the shortage and variety of chicken on their shelves.Store Manager John Vermeulen said yesterday that it was mostly able to supply its customers with whole frozen chickens and skinless chicken breasts.But he said it was difficult to offer customers chicken pieces and popular braai packs containing mixed pieces.Vermeulen said customers had mostly been understanding of the situation.Since the breakout of bird flu, South African authorities have culled several thousand ostriches as the disease spread across farms in the Cape.