Botswana bans poultry imports from SA
Brian Benza | Wednesday June 28, 2017 18:00
The ban follows the discovery of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (Bird Flu) in a broiler breeder site in Mpumalanga province last week. The Bird Flu is a rapidly spreading viral disease that can infect many types of birds and it is highly contagious. It exists naturally in many birds and can be transmitted by coming into contact with infected animals or through ingestion of infected food or water.
The Minister of Agriculture Development and Food Security, Patrick Ralotsia told Mmegi Business yesterday that the ban was a precautionary measure to prevent the importation of the disease into the country where the industry is near self-sufficiency.
“Although the local industry’s production is close to meeting the demand, we still have importation of feeds, day-old chicks as well as some retailers that say they want to import special cuts that are not available here. We are also aware that there is some smuggling of chickens and related products taking place so we are appealing to traders to respect the ban. We will be monitoring the situation and take appropriate action when the situation improves in South Africa,” he said.
Botswana’s current demand for poultry meat and products stands at around 70,000 metric tonnes per annum of which about five percent is imported.
However, there is a huge appetite for traders to import chicken and related products from South Africa due to the significant price differential between chicken imports and the locally produced poultry. The South African department of agriculture yesterday banned the sale of live chickens in a bid to control an outbreak of the highly contagious Bird Flu.
In a statement the department said exports of processed poultry products, live chickens and fresh produce will continue depending on the requirements of importing countries.
“To date, no human cases of infection with avian influenza H5N8 have been reported. However, people handling wild birds, sick or dying poultry must wear protective clothing and wash their hands with disinfectants,” the department stated. South Africa reported an outbreak this month of H5N8 bird flu on a commercial broiler breeder farm in Mpumalanga province, where about 5,000 birds died and the rest were culled.
Bird Flu has been detected in several countries in Europe, Africa and Asia over the past two years, with its spread aided by wild bird migrations. So far it is not reported to have affected people.
Last month, Botswana imposed a ban on the importation of domesticated and wild birds, their products and poultry feed from Zimbabwe.Although Botswana does not import any poultry products from Zimbabwe, Ralotsia said then it was important to put necessary precautionary measures in place.
He stated that there is a likelihood that some travellers may want to transport poultry related products across the borders with Zimbabwe.