Gozo poultry crisis

Local statistics confirmed that the poultry industry in Gozo has suffered a severe crisis. In fact while production and slaughtering in 2003 was 1,250,000 heads, in 2005 this fell to under 500,000. This contradicts the statements made last year by the Prime Minister, Dr Gonzi, and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino, namely that farmers' earnings are rising.

In fact since 2004 the Labour Opposition has been warning of a crisis in this sector, but Government continually denied it. Therefore it is pertinent to ask: how does the Ministry for Rural Affairs intend to compensate Gozitan producers and processors for these losses, due to the incompetence of the administration?

Why did the Government not create a specific policy to revive the Gozo poultry industry when a new poultry policy for 2006 was announced recently? Why is the minister only now offering government subsidies and EU restructuring funds on condition that production rises by 20 per cent? Will Gozitan producers qualify for a share of these funds if they are unable to raise production by this amount?

The minister also said that Government would be using funds that were not used by the industry in 2004 and 2005. It I am not mistaken, in 2004 there were insufficient funds and producers were not paid any subsidies for broilers slaughtered between October and December since the threshold of 7,000 tons had been reached by the end of September.

Why was the application to the EU for safeguards refused? Was it because the application was not in the correct format or detail? Would I be correct in stating that no formal application has ever been submitted by the Maltese Government and that the Maltese authorities only made a very feeble, verbal attempt to protect local producers?

Why did the ministry deny the problems for so long that by the time they woke up, it was too late for Buxom? Can the minister inform us how many people or companies have been caught defrosting imported frozen chicken to market as fresh local produce? Can he name the people or companies who have been caught falsifying documents to carry out this fraud, which has so damaged the local poultry sector and cheated the public?

What measures were taken to stop this fraud and expose these people or companies? Why did it take an external report about this fraud from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to expose it, when the ministry's own controls should have been able to discover it? Is the public aware that members of the poultry sector are instigating legal action against the ministry?

The minister was inaugurating a modernised chicken processing plant in Qrendi, in which Lm500,000 have just been invested. Is this investment to be wasted too, or will this business enjoy the support from Government that Buxom, who spent Lm800,000, were denied? I trust that this business will not suffer the same fate as that of other chicken processors to the detriment of employment and increasing Malta's dependence on imports.

The minister needs to be open and transparent in his dealings, and inform the Opposition, the poultry processors and the people, before he does more damage to the poultry sector and Malta's economy. He also needs to listen to the sector operators and the Opposition, and act promptly in future, instead of wasting time in denials.

I shall be pressing him in Parliament to answer these questions, which are vital to the agri-food sector and to the economy.

Mr Farrugia is the Opposition spokesman on agriculture, fisheries and rural development.