WINDHOEK, June 15 — Namibia plans to develop poultry industry standards to boost sectoral growth, an official said Wednesday.
The standards will serve as a structured guide for poultry production to tackle bottlenecks that have hindered market access to local producers, said Rebekka Shiimi, promotion officer at the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade.
“The country does not have standards for poultry production and its products. As a result, local producers cannot export products due to the absence of such, which limits them to the domestic market,” she said.
The standards will address issues of safety, quality assurance, supply chain processes, and other aspects, Shiimi said.
The proposed standards would complement existing mechanisms geared to giving space to poultry producers, she said, noting that the government has limited the importation of poultry products into the country to 1,200 metric tonnes a month.
Namibia will benchmark the standards against regional markets, including the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) bloc, and aim at both regional and global markets, Shiimi said. (Xinhua)
Namibia mulls developing poultry industry standards
