Press Releases
Opt out packages for poultry farmers, wholesalers and transporters further enhanced
The Executive Council today (July 5) approved the enhanced ex-gratia payment (EGP)
package for live poultry farmers, wholesalers and transporters who opted to
surrender their licences/tenancies voluntarily and cease operation permanently.
Speaking on the enhanced package, a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food
Bureau said the Government had revised the opt-out package taking into account
views expressed by the trade and Members of the Legislative Council Panel on
Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene without compromising the principle of
protecting public health.
Under the enhanced package, the EGP for chicken and pigeon farms will be
increased by $150,000 and $50,000 per farm respectively to account for their
investment in biosecurity facilities as specified in the licensing conditions.
As a result of this enhancement, the minimum payout to a chicken farm would be
increased from $300,000 to $450,000 while the maximum EGP ceiling would be
revised from $4 million to $4.15 million per farm. The total funding required
for providing EGPs and one-off grant for affected workers would also be
increased from $342.1 million to about $366.1 million.
The Government had also decided to maintain the maximum licensing capacity of
local poultry farms at a level of two million.
"In the event that the target reduction of the maximum licensing capacity has
been exceeded (i.e. the total number of poultry reared in local poultry farms
falls below two million) through the voluntary surrender scheme, any subsequent
application to increase the licensing capacity of the remaining farms would only
be considered exceptionally on a case by case basis. The relevant health
authorities would need to be consulted and the overall cap on the licence
capacity would remain at two million," the spokesman said.
The Government has undertaken to maintain the existing level of support to the
poultry farmers remaining in operation, including loans for upgrading of
biosecurity measures and other technical assistance.
The spokesman pointed out that it was the target of the Government to introduce
the enhanced voluntary surrender scheme within a month following funding
approval by the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council.
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE) had expressed the need to take immediate action, the
spokesman said.
When he addressed an United Nations conference currently being held in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia Regional Director of WHO Western Pacific Region, Dr Shigeru
Omi, described the region was at the tipping point of avian influenza virus and
things would get out of hand.
�� Therefore, there is an urgent need to implement the proposed voluntary
surrender scheme as soon as possible so as to further reduce the risk of avian
influenza outbreaks before the coming of the high risk winter season,�� the
spokesman said.
After securing the necessary funding, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Conservation will closely monitor the response to the scheme during the initial
six-month period of implementation.
"If the target reduction cannot be reached within the six-month period of
implementation, the director will exercise the power conferred by section four
of the Public Health (Animal and Birds) (Licensing of Livestock Keeping)
Regulation (Cap 139L) to impose such licence condition relating to the keeping
of livestock and public health to reduce the maximum licence capacity of the
remaining individual farms to meet Government's policy direction," the spokesman
said.
To tally with the launch of EGP packages for live poultry farmers, wholesalers
and transporters, the Government will also seek endorsement to extend the
application period of the EGP and loans to live poultry retailers, and the
one-off grant for live poultry retail workers, under the voluntary surrender
scheme for live poultry retailers. The current retraining courses for live
poultry retail workers and the associated financial arrangements would also end.
The Government would seek funding of $380.1 million from the FC to fund the
packages as EGP to live poultry farmers, wholesalers and transporters who opted
to surrender their licences/tenancies voluntarily and cease operation
permanently, as one-off grants to assist local workers of the live poultry farm,
wholesale and transport sectors who are rendered unemployed as a result of
his/her employer ceasing operation under the voluntary surrender scheme, and as
loan facilities to live poultry transporters to upgrade or convert their
vehicles for other business operations.
Ends/Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Issued at HKT 17:42
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