Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza, in a telephone interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm from Paris, said the government was currently importing meat in an effort to offset rising domestic prices for locally-produced meat.
The minister went on to explain that he had dispatched inspection committees to meat-exporting countries in order to ensure imported meat was up to accepted safety standards.
Private-sector meat importers, however, complain that ministry delegations are often late in carrying out inspections, leading to considerable shipment delays.
In a related development, a ministry official declared that the sarcocyst worm did not pose a threat to humans. "Rumors that imported Indian meat carries the worm were started by local producers in competition with importers," he claimed.
According to Trade Ministry Adviser Sayyed Abul Qomssan, the local market supply of red meat has recently fallen by some 50 percent, causing domestic meat prices to rise dramatically.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
