April 19, 2004

Mexico Set To Reduce Ban On US Poultry

Mexico has agreed to ease its ban on U.S. poultry to just several U.S. states and remove all of the strict testing requirements it had required be done on U.S. exports, a U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary said Friday.
 
Bill Hawks, head of USDA's marketing and regulatory programs, said Mexico will formally announce next week the decision to allow more U.S. poultry across its borders.
 
Hawks, who traveled to Mexico this week, told reporters in Washington that he obtained a "commitment" from Mexico that it will reduce its poultry restriction on the U.S. to just product coming from Texas, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut and California.
 
A USDA spokesperson later said Maryland will also be on the list of states that Mexico retains poultry bans on, bringing the remaining state bans to six.
 
California poultry will remain banned by Mexico because the state is conducting avian influenza vaccinations, according to Toby Moore, who represents the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council.
 
Mexico enacted a nationwide ban on U.S. poultry in February after Texas announced it discovered a case of high path avian influenza, but then eased that somewhat. Full bans remained in place on poultry from 11 states and exports from most others were subjected to testing requirements.