Farmers must wait three months

Star: PUTRAJAYA: Poultry farmers in Selangor, Perak and Penang affected by the H5N1 virus can start re-exporting to Singapore three months from the date of the last culling exercise in the area.
Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority in the meantime will only accept chicken, ducks and eggs from Negri Sembilan, Johor and Malacca.
Veterinary Services Department acting director-general Datuk Dr Mustapa Abdul Jalil said its Singapore counterpart agreed to consider importing processed and cooked duck meat from Perak.
“The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority will audit the companies’ processing procedures before approving the export of cooked and processed duck meat from the state,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Dr Mustapa warned farmers in Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor against accepting poultry from other states merely to increase exports and revenue.
“The repercussion is great for farms caught accepting birds from other states,” he said, adding that the department had records of output of all farms and could detect any sudden increase.
Dr Mustapa said there had been no new case of bird flu in the past week.
He said RM321,105 in compensation would be paid to affected farmers.