SINGAPORE: Ducks from Perak and chickens from Selangor have made a return to Singapore now that the suspension on poultry imports from both states has been lifted.
Thousands of live ducks and chickens began arriving as early as 5am at the Tuas checkpoint, bound for cooking pots in food courts and restaurants here.
An Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (Ava) spokesman said a total of 26,028 ducks in 18 trucks and 2.7 million eggs in 22 trucks from Perak had arrived at the checkpoint as of yesterday afternoon.
Some 50 trucks with 138,046 chickens, of which 5,500 were from Selangor, had also arrived, it said.
Singapore's food security agency announced on Wednesday that it was lifting the suspension on imports of poultry and poultry products after being satisfied that bird flu had been eliminated in Malaysia.
With the lifting of the suspension, five chicken broiler farms and one layer farm in Selangor, and 37 duck farms in Perak will be allowed to export to Singapore.
Singapore consumes about 14,800 tonnes of duck meat and over one billion eggs a year. Prior to the suspension, Selangor supplied about 3% of the eggs and Perak about 80% of the ducks consumed here.
The resumption of duck imports from Perak cheered up duck rice sellers and duck slaughterhouse operators who had been hit hard by the suspension.
“I want Perak ducks, which are semi-free-range, juicy and tender,” Johnny Teo, a roast duck operator in Toa Payoh, was quoted by The Straits Times as saying. – Bernama
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