Plea to reverse egg import decision

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FE Report
Poultry leaders Friday urged the government to withdraw the import decision as the price of eggs has started falling in local market and would come down further within next week, said a statement.
They warned that the government's decision to allow egg import would destroy thousands of small and medium poultry farms and pose a threat to public health as the import risks possible outbreak of avian flu.
Their observations came at a meeting of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee in the capital.
The commerce ministry in a recent gazette notification instructed interested parties to attach certificate by the livestock department or concerned authority of the exporting country before importing eggs.
The ministry also instructed to have confirmation that the consignment is free from avian flu or other harmful bacteria.
But international guideline for importing poultry products was overlooked, the poultry leaders alleged.
Mashiur Rahman, convener of the coordination committee, said there is no way to be sure of getting avian flu or germ-free eggs, as there is no quarantine and certification service station in any of the country's port.
He said the government should not have taken such a risky decision without considering the health threat to its people and animals.
"Who will take the responsibility if a single person is infected by or loses life while checking at the port, transporting or marketing imported eggs?
"If there is a fresh bird flu outbreak like that of 2007, we don't know how the losses of the farmers and traders would be recovered," the statement quoted Mr Rahman as saying.
The poultry leaders also urged the authorities to take immediate measures to solve the problems the country's poultry industry has been facing for years.