Egyptian Government and poultry industry in Egypt

Is the government destroying the local poultry industry? Is Egypt going to be a net importer of chicken after exporting what is worth more than 30 million US Dollars last year? What will happen to 2.5 million perons working in this vital industry? I will not be able to answer all these questions but I will just voice my own opinion. The government is fighting the outbreak of bird flu virus by slaughtering all chicken whether they are in the proximity of an infected area or not.

Many people, most of them very poor, grow chicken at their homes and usually the leave them roaming around in the streets or keep them at the roof. The keep them for their own consumption and for a small revenue for the eggs. An egg before the virus outbreak cost 0.30 LE ( $0.05 USD). However, it is well known that poot people live in miserable and unsanitary conditions and this chicken pose some danger to the public's health. I also watched on that Dream 2 "El 3ashera Masa2" that there was a law dating back to 1940 that prohibits growing poultry at homes. The government just remembered more than 65 years later to enact the law?
Anyways, its good that the government cares about the people after 65 years.

However, the real concern is that the government is destroying the local poultry industry that employs more than 2.5 million person. People in Egypt like to eat slaughtered chicken over the frozen which is proven by the United State's' department of Agriculture's report on the poultry industry in Egypt released in March 1997[pdf]. My grandmother is one of those who always buy slaughtered chicken. The government stopped all of that forever. Many enterpreneurs and owners of small and medium sized poultry industries including chicken growers have their businesses closed by the government and millions of healthy chicken were slaughtered. There is that guy living in the states said on the ALU's message board that his family's chicken farm was closed by the government and they lost 100s of thousands of pounds. This is a big catastrophe. All chicken meat producers are losing their jobs and incomes.

What made me suspicious is that the goverment announced that import of frozen chicken from a non infected country will start very soon and it will facilitate the process for importers. On the other hand, china and other asian nations started vaccinating their poultry against the disease 4 monthes ago!!!

By David McAlary
Washington
16 November 2005
China is expanding its effort to vaccinate poultry in an effort to stop the
spread of the highly virulent form of bird flu virus known as H5N1. It is one of
four Asian nations that have adopted the inoculation tactic. The United Nations'
top influenza control official says there are drawbacks to the practice,
biological and economic, but emphasizes that it is necessary for reducing the
amount of virus circulating in birds.

Check the the article on the voice of america's archive.
This means the government has some other intention other than limiting the spread of the disease and saving the national industry. Shuting down the industry and resorting to import after the outbreak is so strange. If the government was really keen for the benefit of the people they would have taken precautionary measures long time ago.

However, The government and ruling party were busy forging the parliamentary elections and killing people who went to vote. And now, in my opinion, they are exaggerating the rumors and the outbreak to serve the interests of some importers in the ruling party.