Rwanda has started importing eggs and chicks from Uganda, after a two year ban has been lifted.

"Several permits have been given out and we have already started trading. About 50,000 eggs and 21,000 one-day-old chicks are to be imported,” Théogène Rutagengwa, the director Rwanda Animal Resource Development Agency (RARDA) said.

Rwanda was compelled to halt poultry trade activities, in October 2005 to save the birds and  people after the bird flu which kills both humans and birds was detected in some Asian and African countries.

Lifting of the ban could have come in late. Currently the country is still paying as there is a shortage of eggs and chicken on the market.

To have an egg, a consumer has to pay Frw100 while people who enjoy chicken pay between Frw2,000 and Frw2,500 per kilogramme, which is the highest price in the region.

The Government of Rwanda lifted the ban after veterinary experts found out that Uganda was bird flu-free.

But the move is was also bolstered by the country’s preparedness to handle the disease with help of the World Organisation for Animal Health Uganda exports most of its poultry to The Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi markets.

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