The lack of modern laboratory for diagnosing diseases in chickens and checking the quality of feed and meat are some of the major setbacks facing poultry industry in Nepal, reports My Republica.

Speaking at the fourth annual general meeting of National Poultry Entrepreneurs, poultry specialists said this has created unfavourable business environment for poultry farmers as well as sellers.

According to Ishwar Sharma, president of Nepal Hatchery Association, lack of diagnostic lab and proper training for farmers have brought various problems for the poultry industry in Nepal.

He said: "There is also high need of introduction of effective chickens measuring trends for the enterprise to run smoothly," adding that farmers are bound to face business difficulties as a result.

"In comparison to mutton and buffalo meat, there are fewer chances for chicken meat to get contaminated. So proper inspection and construction of storage labs could contribute to minimising the diseases found in chickens," said Baburam Gautam, chief of Public Health Division, Kathmandu.

He told My Republica that, to control diseases among chickens, Kathmandu Municipality with the help of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) will be shortly establishing a sample market for selling and slaughtering chickens and ducks. "This will greatly reduce the trend of selling unhygienic meat to customers," he said.

According to the data provided by National Poultry Entrepreneurs, Nepal produces 110,000 broiler chickens a week. Domestic production alone fulfills daily consumption of 150 tonnes of chicken meat in the capital.