June 14, 2006

Japan halts Hungarian poultry on bird flu concerns

Japan said Tuesday (Jun 13) it has temporarily halted imports of Hungarian poultry, including fois gras, over bird flu concerns.

Imports were halted Monday, and Tokyo has asked the Hungarian government for details on its anti-bird flu measures, the Agricultural Ministry said in a statement.

The suspension of poultry imports from Japan's second-biggest foreign supplier of fois gras--or livers of geese and ducks used in French cuisine--follows a similar ban placed earlier this year on imports from France, Tokyo's largest supplier of the delicacy.

France and Hungary both experienced their first cases of deadly H5N1 in fowl in February.

Tokyo imported 331 tonnes of fois gras products from Hungary last year, and 377 tonnes from France, according to ministry figures.

The French poultry sector, Europe's largest, has estimated it loses US$49 million a month as countries scale back their chicken imports.