As plans to streamline the importation of mechanically deboned meat continue, government has expressed unease on increased meat imports.
Michael Katambo, the fisheries and livestock minister revealed that volumes of the mechanically deboned meat imports have shot up in the last two years.
He said government is duty bound to attract investment in the livestock sector and gradually reduce the imports of livestock products.
The mechanically deboned meat is imported into the country as raw materials and is used in the production of Hungarian sausages and other processed meat products, resulting in an outcry by various sector players.
Government’s policy as outlined in the Seventh National Development Plan under the Economic Diversification and Vision 2030 is to make the country self-sufficient and a net exporter of meat.
Katambo has since urged stakeholders in the poultry industry to come up with a common position with regards to importation of mechanically deboned meat.
