Trading in domestic birds here is on the brink of collapse following the ban on imports from East Asia.
The UAE has stopped imports of all types of poultry and live birds from Southeast Asia following the outbreak of bird flu in the Far East which has killed at least 14 people.
Since then, tens of millions of chickens and ducks have been slaughtered in Vietnam, China, South Korea, Cambodia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Laos and Japan to stop the spread of the disease known as pathogenic avian influenza virus.
While there have been no reported cases in the UAE, the ban has badly hit Sharjahs bird and animal market, the largest in the UAE and second biggest in the Gulf region after Saudi Arabia.
The ban has threatened trade between Pakistani breeders of domestic birds and retailers in the UAE who, before the stoppage, had been dealing with around 100,000 birds a week.
Around 90 per cent of imported live birds come from Pakistan, which include one-day-old coloured chickens, domestic pigeons, ducklings, geese, turkeys, rabbits, finches, bulbul, budgerigars (love birds) cuckoos and green parrots.
The import ban has sent prices rising by as much as 100 per cent and caused a dramatic fall in the number of visitors to the Sharjah Birds Market.
Already one shop in the market has been closed by the Sharjah Municipality after the retailer was declared bankrupt and unable to pay his rent.
The unlucky trader fears other retailers may follow suit. "More shops are likely to close down within a month or so if the ban is not lifted," he said.
A survey of the Sharjah market has shown that some traders are trying to keep their businesses afloat by ordering birds from Syria and Egypt, which are cheaper than stock from Holland and Australia.
Mumtaz Mirza of Al Huda Birds Trading said: "I used to take in between Dh800-Dh1,000 a day, but now my sales have gone down to Dh200-Dh300. Its not enough to survive in this business and pay the rent and staff salaries and feed the birds."
Mirza said a pair of budgerigars which would normally cost around Dh15-Dh20, were now sold for Dh40 or more.
The trader feels the ban is entirely unjustified as the bird flu only affects chickens and that most domestic birds in the UAE are bred by people living in parts of Pakistan which are free from the virus.
There are about 165 bird shops in the UAE: 60 in Sharjah, 20 in Dubai, 15 in Al Ain, 40 in Abu Dhabi, 20 in Fujairah and 10 in Ras Al Khaimah.
Gulf News
