February 6, 2007

Argentina's poultry chamber sees opportunity in UK bird flu

Argentina sees potential for expanding its poultry exports due to the absence of bird flu in the country and the weekend's outbreak in the UK, the president of the Argentine Poultry Chamber, Jorge Nazar, said Monday (Feb 5).

Argentina has the capacity to increase exports and has not yet been affected by the disease, Nazar said.

"It's possible that our merchandise will be in greater demand," he said. The highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu was discovered at a turkey farm in England over the weekend.

This was the UK's first outbreak of the disease that has ravaged Asia's poultry stocks and has killed more than 160 people worldwide.

Argentina's location at the far end of South America, far away from migratory bird patterns carrying the disease, has so far prevented the disease from reaching the country, Nazar added.

In addition, the country does not import poultry from areas that may be affected, making transmission more difficult, according to Nazar.

Argentina exported 71,234 tonnes of fresh poultry in 2006, according to the government. Chile was the leading destination, purchasing 20,881 tonnes, followed by South Africa with 11,001 tonnes and Germany with 4,783 tonnes.