The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department will form a taskforce to monitor the entry of poultry from other states into Meghalaya, minister Alexander Laloo Hek informed today.
He said this after meeting with a delegation of the Meghalaya Poultry Farmers and Welfare Association (MPFWA) on the apprehension that avian flu will spread in Meghalaya through the importation of poultry from other states.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Hek said that the avian flu epidemic has affected the country since 2019. Recently, members of the association turned back two truckloads of poultry coming from Haryana as it was alleged that this state has been hit by avian flu.
Daminot Sylliang, president of the MPFWA, said certain states in the country have banned the entry of poultry from areas where there are cases of avian flu and that Meghalaya can follow this example.
Also of concern to the poultry farmers is the lower prices of imported chicken and eggs, which undercuts local suppliers.
To this, Hek said that the government cannot fix the rates of poultry products sold in Meghalaya. “If all the poultry owners are willing to fix a rate, we don’t have any problem. But if they have their own rate, how can we organise on their behalf?” he said.
Sylliang urged the state government to ban poultry coming from other states so that Meghalayan poultry farmers do not face losses. Although an import ban would help farmers, it would probably make the government unpopular with consumers, who would have to pay higher rates for their chicken and eggs.
