From banks and government
Poultry farms still receive support
The government and several banks are going to assist the poultry companies that have been affected by the fipronil affair. State Secretary Martijn van Dam announced this on Wednesday 9 August after consultation with the poultry sector.
The banks will ensure, among other things, that the poultry farms cannot run into financial problems in the short term. "When the worst is over, we sit down to take stock," said Van Dam.
Money not immediately available
"We do not immediately have money on the shelf to cover all costs," continues Van Dam. However, the ministry does grant the affected companies a deferment of payment on premiums that they have to pay to the Animal Health Fund. "In addition, we are also looking at whether other bills are also paid to the government. The intention is that these can also be temporarily stopped, in order to help the companies through this difficult period," says Van Dam.
In addition, the ministry is also looking at how confidence can be restored abroad. Dutch eggs were removed from the shops in Germany, among others. In addition, the Belgian government says that the NVWA was already tipped off in November 2016 about the presence of fipronil.
Money for cleaning
In order to get the chickens free of fipronil, the houses must be cleaned. However, relatively little is known about this substance and it is therefore not clear how exactly the stables should be cleaned. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has therefore made a jar of "a few tons" available to investigate this, Van Dam said.
Kimberly Baker
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