February 4, 2013
Indonesia maintains ban on Australian poultry
Indonesia will continue to restrict poultry importation from Australia at least until March 21,following the ban imposed since November last year.
Indonesia insists their import ban, put in place after a strain of bird flu was detected on a New South Wales farm last November, must extend for three months after the all-clear was given in late December. Indonesia will also wait to resume imports only after the World Organisation for Animal Health is notified, reported ABC news agency.
Australian Chicken Meat Federation's Executive Director Andreas Dubbs told the news station Indonesia's action is different to the majority of nations importing Australian poultry. "Many countries reinstated the trade back in December or before, and many countries only limited it to that farm or New South Wales. Indonesia is at one extreme of the spectrum in this instance."
