September 27, 2004

Finnish Poultry Import Ban Partially Lifted By Russia

The import ban on Finnish poultry and eggs to Russia has been partly overturned.

Senior Inspector Kaisa Hakulin from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry says Russian authorities confirmed Friday that the restrictions would no longer apply to the region of Satakunta in western Finland. The details of the decision have not been disclosed as yet.

Russia set the ban two months ago when a case of Newcastle's disease - rarely found in Finland - was detected in a turkey farm in Luvia. The disease is extremely harmful to poultry, although harmless to humans. No other farms were infected with the disease.