Poultry Association of Zambia (PAZ) executive manager, Mathews Ngosa said the local poultry industry was the most progressive in the region because it had attained international standards.

Mr Ngosa said currently, the sector was undergoing an expansion programme aimed at meeting demand which had outstripped supply. New entrants in the industry such as Chick Masters and Zam Bird will supplement existing ones like Hybrid, Ross Breeders, Bokomo and of late, Panda.

He said because of the ongoing expansion programme, processed products had increased from 16 million birds in 2000 to about 26 million in 2007. He added that enquiries and orders for mainly processed eggs and hatching eggs were coming from as far as the Comoros Island, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Tanzania and Uganda among other countries in the region.

Mr Ngosa said Zambia had put in place measures to ensure the highest standards in the sector to prevent disease outbreaks such as bird flu.