December 13, 2023
Hong Kong, China, halts poultry imports from US, UK and Poland
Hong Kong, China, has suspended imports of poultry meat and products from parts of the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland following outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu.
The Centre for Food Safety said on December 11 that it had instructed traders to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including eggs, from the relevant areas with immediate effect to protect public health. It added that it had been notified by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in areas of the US, the UK and Poland.
The suspension of US products covers Stanislaus and San Benito counties in California, Barron County in Wisconsin, Arkansas' Johnson County, Ohio's Darke County and Bent County in Colorado.
East Devon in the UK and the Goleniowski district of the Zachodniopomorskie region of Poland are also affected.
"The centre has contacted the Polish, British and American authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks," a spokesman said. "Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation."
Hong Kong imported about 21,470 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and 57.1 million eggs from the US in the first nine months of this year.
In the same period, 540 tonnes of poultry meat and 400,000 eggs came from the UK.
Hong Kong also imported about 2,140 tonnes of Polish frozen poultry meat.
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An industry representative said he believed the suspension of imports would not significantly impact the local catering industry. Kwok Shi-hing, chairman of the Hong Kong Chilled Meat and Poultry Association, said most restaurants primarily relied on imports from mainland China, which comprised a majority of the market share.
"[The proportion of imports from the US] is negligible, as most catering businesses in Hong Kong source their products from the mainland, particularly Guangdong province," Kwok noted. The proportion of UK products was even smaller, he added.
- South China Morning Post