March 2, 2006

French farmers fret as countries ban French poultry

As the list of countries outside the EU banning French poultry rises with each passing day, the French government is now asking for partial bans limited to the bird flu affected regions instead of bans on the entire country's poultry.

French poultry exports outside the European Union were worth about 400 million euros (US$474 million).

France last week discovered the H5N1 virus in a turkey farm in eastern France, the first case of infection in a commercial flock in the European Union.

Since then, 43 countries outside the EU, including Japan, Brazil, Canada, Thailand and Australia, have imposed bans on French poultry products, including foie gras.

Some countries, like the United States, are banning poultry products only from the Ain region where the virus was found.

French Trade Minister Christine Lagarde said that French diplomats in other countries have been tasked to explain the situation to local authorities and ask them to impose a limited ban.

Under EU rules, poultry meat, eggs and products from areas around a bird flu zone are blocked from the market whereas trading of these products from unaffected parts of the country may continue.