December 26, 2003

China Ban Korean Poultry Imports

China has banned any direct or indirect import of poultry and bird products from South Korea. The Ministry of Agriculture and State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, in a joint announcement, said that any South Korean poultry and bird products already in China must either be returned or destroyed to keep the bird flu epidemic out of the country.

To date, South Korean authorities have marked nearly one million chickens and ducks for slaughter to help contain a highly contagious bird flu spreading throughout the country.