Mozambique: Poultry industry says it has enough chickens and eggs for festive season

The Mozambican Poultry Industry Association (AMIA) said on Tuesday that the sector had enough chickens and eggs for Christmas and the end-of-year festivities, at a time when the country is facing an outbreak of avian influenza. “Even in the face of [bird flu]outbreaks (…), we are confident in our ability to ensure the supply of chicken and eggs for consumption during the festive period,” a statement from AMIA distributed yesterday reads. At issue is bird flu diagnosed in a production unit in the Mozambican province of Inhambane which lead to the slaughter of 45,000 laying hens producing around 44,000 eggs daily, a case linked to dozens of outbreaks of two different avian flu strains in neighbouring South Africa. At the moment, according to sector sources, Mozambique has 1,615 tonnes of frozen chicken in stock, and by December expects to have 4,935 tonnes of domestic chicken to hand, in addition to 1,200 tonnes of imported chicken. “It is important to highlight that we do not ...