April 3, 2006

Ban on Indian poultry hits Gulf importers

Imports of eggs in West Asia, especially in the cities of Dubai or Bahrain, have been severely affected by the stoppage of poultry imports from India, according to the All India Poultry Products Exports Association.

Since Indian poultry supplies were halted due to bird flu in India, importers in the Gulf have been sourcing either from the US or Brazil. The minimum time for eggs from these markets to get to the gulf is between 45-50 days, compared to shipments from India which took between 3-5 days.

Freight charges from these countries have also pushed up the cost of these eggs, making them cost twice as much than if they were imported from India.

Importers also have to bear with more exacting trade conditions when they are importing from US or Brazil compared to India.

Poultry importers in Dubai are keen to resume imports of poultry from India and importers are calling for steps to normalise trade, said the secretary of the All India Poultry Products Exporters Association. Moreover, Tamil Nadu, the region in India from which Dubai gets its eggs, is free from bird flu, he added.

Tamil Nadu's poultry industry is eager to take a trade delegation to the Gulf to brief authorities there on the disease-free conditions of the farms in Tamil Nadu. To assure consumers on the safety of the poultry imports from India, India has offered its Avian Disease Lab to be used to certify poultry exports to the Gulf as stipulated by the importers there.

Poultry breeders in the Indian state also felt that the classification of diseased areas should be more specific and lessen the hardship in undertaking disease surveillance or monitoring.

The poultry sector felt that the regulations of the Organisation International Episodic (OIE) on outbreak of animal disease afflictions should be redefined.

Instead of giving approval to entire countries, the disease free status could be narrowed down so that it can be conferred on each individual farm or even each individual shipment, a representative said.