JULY 9TH, 2015 LAUNCH OF OPERATION “HAWK DESCEND” REMARKS BY PRESIDENT
POULTRY ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA
REMARKS BY THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT, DR. AYOOLA ODUNTAN POULTRY ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCHING OF OPERATION “HAWK DESCEND” BY THE NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE (NCS) AT SEME BORDER, LAGOS STATE , 7TH JULY 2015
The Poultry Association is pleased with the leadership and Management of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on the occasion of the launching of operation “Hawk Descend” as an onslaught on the continued smuggling of imported, but smuggled poultry products from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria.
Other than the ruining of the Nigeria economy, the destruction of the local poultry industry, and the erosion of family livelihoods, Nigerians are worse off by the continued patronage of these unwholesome smuggled poultry products mostly from the Republic of Benin. If this trend is not checked and brought under control, the huge investments in the poultry industry might be rendered unproductive, and economy brought into total collapse.
We are concerned and worried more as the results of independent research on smuggled poultry products in the Nigerian markets revealed that imported poultry meat (particularly chicken and turkey) are loaded with microbes linking salmonella spp with the imported, but smuggled poultry meat into the Nigerian markets.
The above pose grave dangers to consumers, the handlers and the environment thereby causing great threat to public health.
Records available to the Association indicate that 81% of frozen poultry products sold in Lagos, Ibadan, Warri, Abuja, Port harcourt are smuggled.
There smuggled chickens are principally from the Republic of Benin as statistics readily at our disposal have indicated. For a seven years record of export of poultry products from Europe alone, Benin Republic continues to lead other African countries in import as indicated below:
2008 – 82,338 tons
2009 – 84,328 tons
2010 – 113,614 tons
2011 – 123,764 tons
2012 – 136,889 tons
2013 – 142,478 tons
2014 – 162,791 tons
Source: Eurostat
The above import by the Republic of Benin from Europe excludes others from Thailand, Brazil and the United States of America. By our estimates, the Republic of Benin import over 1.7 million tons of Poultry products into Benin, a country with a total population of not more than Lagos state. Over 80% of the poultry products import by Benin (frozen chicken and turkey) finds themselves into Nigerian Markets causing loss of over USD 2.5 billion and over 1 million job loss.
The above scenario is not a pleasant development for our country – Nigeria. Charity must begin from home as we cannot be used as a dumping ground for cheap unwholesome products from the developed poultry economies of the world.
As poultry producers and one of the critical drivers of the economy, we are pleased with this initiative of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and NAFDAC.
We implore us to work hand in hand with the Consumers Protection Council (CPC) and the stakeholders in the poultry industry in Nigeria through the Association so that together we can all work together to rid the Nigerian markets of these products.
Thank you all.