February 11, 2004

China Bans US Poultry Imports On Bird Flu Fears

China announced the suspension of all poultry and its related products from the United States as a result of the bird flu outbreak in Delaware.

The emergency notice from the Ministry of Agriculture said U.S. poultry products that have already arrived at Chinese ports would be returned or destroyed. All new permits for U.S. poultry will be cancelled.

China's action follows similar bans on U.S. poultry by Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, the country's total import of poultry meats and products in 2003 was just 643,000 tons - 96% of which came from the United States.

That's a small fraction of China's poultry market; the country produced more than 9 million tons of chicken meat alone last year - 20% of total worldwide production.

China itself is a large chicken-farming country, and a more dangerous form of bird flu is confirmed or suspected in 14 of the nation's 31 regions.

China has slaughtered millions of fowl to try to contain the disease's spread and inoculated millions more.

The government has reported no human cases of bird flu.