Bird flu scare to cost Ugachick sh160 billion
Mar 19, 2006
UGACHICK, the leading chicken producer may lose up to sh160b following the decline in demand of its products due to the bird flu scare.<br>
By Sandra Lucky
UGACHICK, the leading chicken producer may lose up to sh160b following the decline in demand of its products due to the bird flu scare.
“We produce 80,000 layers and 50,000 broilers which are hatched every Monday and Thursday. But customers are not buying due to fear of bird flu,†Aga Ssekalala, the managing director (right), said last week.
Lule Ssentumbe, the quality controller, however, said they were still producing the same previous quantity.
He said since the bird flu outbreak was reported in Europe, customers had decided to keep off.
“About 30% of our customers have decided not to buy the chicks. This has affected us. We do not how long this will go,†Ssentumbwe said.
Ssekalala said he feared they may not cash-in on the usually huge Easter, Martyrs Day and Makerere University graduation sales.
But health ministry officials say there was no risk in eating well-cooked poultry products, saying Uganda is still free of bird flu.
Dr. Sam Okware, the chairman of the National Task Force on Bird Flu, said on Friday that if the disease hits Uganda and there is evidence that poultry died of the disease, the Government would compensate farmers through the available scheme.
“We do not want Ugandans to panic, because since 1879, when the first bird flu case was recorded in Italy, less than 100 people world-wide have so far died from it. Eat chicken, do not starve yourselves,†he said.
Okware said routine surveillance tests on dead wild birds and poultry had confirmed that Uganda was free of the disease.
Ends
UGACHICK, the leading chicken producer may lose up to sh160b following the decline in demand of its products due to the bird flu scare.
“We produce 80,000 layers and 50,000 broilers which are hatched every Monday and Thursday. But customers are not buying due to fear of bird flu,†Aga Ssekalala, the managing director (right), said last week.
Lule Ssentumbe, the quality controller, however, said they were still producing the same previous quantity.
He said since the bird flu outbreak was reported in Europe, customers had decided to keep off.
“About 30% of our customers have decided not to buy the chicks. This has affected us. We do not how long this will go,†Ssentumbwe said.
Ssekalala said he feared they may not cash-in on the usually huge Easter, Martyrs Day and Makerere University graduation sales.
But health ministry officials say there was no risk in eating well-cooked poultry products, saying Uganda is still free of bird flu.
Dr. Sam Okware, the chairman of the National Task Force on Bird Flu, said on Friday that if the disease hits Uganda and there is evidence that poultry died of the disease, the Government would compensate farmers through the available scheme.
“We do not want Ugandans to panic, because since 1879, when the first bird flu case was recorded in Italy, less than 100 people world-wide have so far died from it. Eat chicken, do not starve yourselves,†he said.
Okware said routine surveillance tests on dead wild birds and poultry had confirmed that Uganda was free of the disease.
Ends