Recently many Zambians were alarmed with news that one of the biggest retail outlets in the country had been granted a poultry import permit allowing it to import several metric tonnes of dressed chickens into the country. The poultry industry is one of the biggest employers providing formal and informal employment to many Zambians. Many Zambians earn their living by rearing and selling chickens. They were therefore disturbed that the government had allowed importation of dressed chickens into the country.
The Poultry Association of Zambia (PAZ) raised concern because the imported chickens were going to be much cheaper than the locally produced chickens causing unfair competition as the local production costs are very high. Based on this the association appealed to government to repel the import permit that it had issued. Yesterday the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock informed Parliament that government had repelled the permit.
