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Ban on import of day-old chicken, eggs from India

Earlier, the UAE had imposed a ban on all live birds and poultry from all South East Asian countries including India, following reports of bird flu outbreak in these countries early this year.

“But, the recent reports on the outbreak of bird flu in India has forced the UAE to now stop all imports of eggs and one-day-old chicken,” a source at the Animal Wealth Department at the Ministry of Environment and Water said yesterday.

The ministry source disclosed that the UAE imports a large quantity of one-day-old chicken and eggs from India, which is now stopped temporarily, following the confirmation of the bird flu outbreak by the OIE and WHO.

He noted: “Around 25 local poultry farms in the UAE imported one-day old chicken and eggs from India, and the recent ban will surely affect the local poultry industry, resulting in a short supply of chicken in the local market.”

However, Dr Hussain Hassanin, Secretary of the UAE Poultry Producers Association, denied any import of one-day-old chicken by local poultry farms from India. He refused to give further details on the impact on the local market following the recent import ban from India.

Ibrahim Al Bahr, Operations Manager at Union Cooperatives Union in Dubai assured that the cooperative outlets will not be affected by the ban on import of poultry from India, Egypt, and other countries, because “we stock fresh chicken sourced from local poultry farms only.”

He, however, confirmed that the recent reports of bird flu outbreak in India and Egypt have resulted in a slight drop in the sales of chicken and eggs at the Union Cooperative outlets in the country over the last few days.

Meanwhile, an official at the Ministry of Environment and Water has urged people not to panic because the UAE is taking necessary measures to combat the spread of bird flu in the country.

• UAE