Ban lifted on import of live chicken from Saudi, Kuwait

A decree issued on Tuesday by the Minister of Environment and Water, Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, states that cargo of any type of live or slaughtered birds, or their related products shall not be allowed into the country until an import permit for that is obtained from only the ministry before the import is effected.

The decree says any cargo of live or slaughtered birds, or their related products which arrived at the country’s entry points without the permit must be returned immediately to its origin.

According to the decree import permit must be issued as per the existing health and veterinary laws of the country in addition to the following rules:

(1) The validity of the import permit must not exceed two weeks from the date of issue.

(2) In the case of processed and fresh food products, applicant for the importation of such a product shall have to produce an officially approved health certificate to prove the cargo and its origin are free from disease. The health permit must have been issued more than a month from the date of submitting the application for importation of the products.

(3) For the importation of chicks, applicant shall present a health certificate from a laboratory approved by the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), proving that that particular import is free from avian flu and other contagious diseases. The certificate must have been issued within a period of not more than two months from the date of submitting the application for import of the product.

(4) With regard to the importation of live birds, the importer shall present an officially approved health certificate proving that the imported birds are free from any disease. The certificate must have been issued within a period of more than two weeks from the date of submitting the import application.

(5) All live birds must be kept at a special quarantine centre for a period not less than 28 days from the date of entry into the country during which all the necessary lab tests shall be carried on them to ensure they carry no disease, the decree states, adding that a random sample pick shall be made continuously on all imported cargoes referred to in rule No. (3) to be sent for specialised lab test inside or outside the country.

The importer shall bear the cost involved in the collection, transport and analysing of the sample referred to in rule No. (4) and (5), the decree added.

All import shall be made through the entry points stipulated by the environment ministry to match with the nature of each type of cargo and the technical capacity of the entry point, the decree says, adding that all import permits shall contain the entry point through which the cargo shall entre the country and no cargo shall try to enter the country through any entry point other than the one indicated in the import permit, the decree warned.