Help for poultry farmers
The government is offering guarantees for loans taken out by small poultry businesses, in a desperate bid to save a once-thriving sector from collapse due to the threat from bird flu. The Finance Ministry said yesterday it would provide guarantees of up to 60,000 euros on loans taken by poultry businesses with annual sales of up to 1.0 million euros ($1.23 million). Industry officials have said the country’s poultry industry, which employs thousands of people, is only months away from collapse after a massive drop in sales due to fears of bird flu. «Deputy Finance Minister Petros Doukas has signed this decision today to further support the poultry industry to reverse the damage caused by bird flu,» the ministry said in a statement. Greece, among the first European countries to detect the deadly H5N1 bird flu in wild fowl two months ago, has so far confirmed 33 cases in swans and geese. It has yet to detect any cases in domestic farm poultry. But sales have dropped by an estimated 70 percent over the past few months and many businesses now face closure. An estimated 15,000 jobs in the poultry business and related enterprises such as restaurants and supermarkets could be lost during the year because of the sharp drop in sales, industry officials have forecast. (Reuters)
