July 18, 2016
South Korea ends ban on US poultry products
South Korea has lifted its ban on US poultry imports for the second time in just over a year, a move welcomed by the US poultry industry.
"We're pleased that the market has reopened to our products, which are in high demand in South Korea," said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.
The lift order covers poultry processed after June 1, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday, July 15.
South Korea stopped all US poultry imports in early 2015 during initial avian-influenza outbreaks. It lifted the ban in November but put it back after the virus was detected in Indiana in January this year.
In 2014, before South Korea banned all US poultry products due to bird-flu concerns, US exported chicken products worth $98.2 million and turkey products at $7.4 million, making the East Asian country the 14th-largest market for chicken and the sixth-biggest turkey export market, according to Vilsack.