January 7, 2010

Japan bans imports of poultry from Texas

The poultry industry in US state Texas is the latest bird flu victim, as Japan suspended imports of Texan poultry.

Texas has reported of a case of bird flu serotype H5, said the USDA on Wednesday (Jan 6).

Japan had previously banned poultry imports from Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Illinois.

Japan is a small market for US poultry, accounting for US$43 million in sales last year. Japan has recently also banned imports of poultry from South Korea due to new bird flu cases, despite having permitted the re-entry of Korean poultry less than a month before.