Mozambique’s government has announced a ban on live bird imports and imports of meat, eggs and feathers from South Africa after an outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu was reported.
According to AllAfrica, Mozambique’s ban includes all poultry products used in the agriculture industry as well as animal feed. A statement from Mozambique’s Ministry of Agriculture says that the ban does not include meat that has been heat treated as that can inactivate the influenza virus.
Mozambique’s poultry industry is not large enough to meet domestic demand for meat and eggs. Production data from 2017 shows that Mozambique’s poultry farmers can supply the domestic market with 70,000 tonnes of chicken per year, 10,000 tonnes short of the country’s estimated consumption.
South Africa’s bird flu outbreak was first reported on a commercial layer farm on 13 April. The outbreak killed 300 birds and the rest of the flock has been culled to prevent the disease from spreading further. The farm, located at Ekurhuleni, Gauteng province, is under strict quarantine.
