MANILA – (UPDATE) The ban on the shipment of poultry products from Luzon to other parts of the country will be lifted on Tuesday as long as the produce is not sourced from areas affected by bird flu, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said.
Poultry products from within the 7-kilometer radius quarantine zones in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija are still prohibited from being sold in the market, Piñol told reporters.
Chicken, ducks and eggs must first be validated and sealed by quarantine officers before being shipped outside Luzon, he said.
The government has earmarked in P48 million in aid for affected farmers in Pampanga, while another P33.5 million has been allotted for Nueva Ecija farmers.
Affected farmers can avail of P5,000 cash aid and borrow as much as P20,000 each, Piñol earlier said in an interview on DZMM.
At least 600,000 fowls were culled in Pampanga, while 550,000 birds were slaughtered in Nueva Ecija to prevent the spread of the disease.
Piñol said the agriculture department might seek assistance from other government agencies after prices of live chicken dropped to P10 from P80.
ARTICLE AT: http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/22/17/poultry-shipment-ban-lifted-with-conditions-piol-says