Maputo, 30 (AIM) – High airport fees and limitations on the import of hatching eggs from Brazil and Turkey are contributing to the rising cost of chicks and chickens in Mozambique, especially in the southern region.
Although the import of hatching eggs is exempt from paying customs duties and Value Added Tax (VAT), importers have to pay 60,000 meticais (933 dollars, at the current exchange rate) in airport fees and a separate fee depending on the weight of the product, which is not the case when the poultry is purchased in South Africa.
The import of chickens from Brazil and Turkey is result of the ban on the entry to Mozambique of poultry products from South Africa, following outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in some South African provinces.
According to Faiçal Leu, spokesperson of the Mozambican Poultry Farmers Association and a producer of chicks, cited by Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Notícias”, in addition to these charges, the product does not arrive in the country regularly.
“There are no direct flights from these countries to Mozambique. One cargo flight a week arrives in the country, but there are weeks when none arrives, so there aren’t enough products to supply the hatcheries”, he explained.
He also said the association has not received any eggs for two weeks and other importers were facing the same difficulties. However, Leu praised the government’s efforts to make import licenses more flexible.
“However, with these other situations we won’t be able to meet the demand”, he lamented.
(AIM)
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