25 million ducks are imported every year to meet local demand, an official report issued by Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday.
Local production does not exceed 10 million ducks per year, hence the need for supplementation from abroad.
The ministry's report on Sunday highlighted a discrepancy between production targets (set at more than 17 million ducks per year) and actual producation rates (only 6.9 million ducks actually being bred for consumption in a year).
The report examined in particular the commercial farming of female ducks. Out of an estimated total of 1393 duck farms in the country, 630 specialize in breeding female ducks. The report cites a production rate of 2.787 million female ducks per year from Egyptian farms.
In the interests of health and safety, 15 private companies have submitted requests to Agriculture Minister Essam Fayed to ban poultry imports from countries affected by the pandemic Avian Influenza (Bird Flu). On the list of Flu-free countries was France. The companies' requests follow the example of numerous countries who have taken similiar steps to avoid contaminated imports.
In an official memorandum, companies in the poultry industry provided four reasons for the minister to approve importation. Banning imports, they asserted, causes price hikes in the local poultry industry. This is not affordable for consumers and puts pressure on low-income Egyptians as Ramadan nears.
The memorandum indicated a protocol signed between Egypt and France in 2008, which banned the importing of poultry from Bird Flu-infected areas. The ban was implemented in 2010.
The ban on turkey and duck imports from France was subsequently lifted, given the shortfallings of the local industry to meet market demands. With only 25 percent of total supply being provided by Egyptian duck farms, France makes up a significant proportion of the total market consumption of ducks in Egypt.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
