Call to ban poultry smuggling into Afghanistan

CHARIKAR (Pajhwok): Poultry farmers in central Parwan province have urged the government to ban the smuggling of chicken meat into the country.
At a meeting here, the governor and other officials promised the purchase of domestic chickens to help local farmers.
Saaduddin Hoshmand, head of the Poultry Farmers Union, complained the smuggling of chickens from neighbor country had damaged their business.
Currently, he added, there were 150 poultry farms in Parwan province, with 150,000 chickens.
He urged the government to ban the imports and smuggling of chickens. “If our chickens are not sold in time, we will suffer 150,000 afs losses per each thousand chickens.
Baryalai Bahadur, a poultry farmer who closed his farm due to smuggling from neighbor country, said: “As a result of local market downturns, I closed my farm in Tutumdara three months ago.” He feared if illegal imports were not banned, the remaining farms in the country would have to be shut as well.
Governor Maulvi Obaidullah Aminzada underlined the need for strengthening the private sector and creating jobs. “We are trying to support the private sector through legal channels and use local products at the governmental level.”
The governor called for the production of quality products and assured the government would buy locally produced items.