UAE to review ban on Indian poultry products

DUBAI: The authorities in the UAE have decided to review a ban on Indian poultry products put in place since July after bird flu was detected in Manipur.

A high-level Indian delegation urged the UAE and Saudi Arabian authorities to ease the ban on Indian poultry products which has been imposed since the latest outbreak of avian flu.

"Since the majority of the imports (of Indian poultry products) came from Tamil Nadu, which was very far from Manipur, where the avian flu outbreak had taken place, we have asked the UAE authorities to allow the imports," K S Money, head of the Indian delegation and Chairman of the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export said.

Talking to the media after meeting top officials of the UAE government yesterday, Money said the local authorities promised to look into the ban and review it.

He said the UAE ministry will refer the matter to the technical committee which will look into the issue soon.

The Indian team also apprised the government in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia about the status of the problem and steps to check the spread of the bird flu virus.

In May, at the first meeting of the India-UAE Trade Policy Forum, Indian Commerce and Industry Minster Kamal Nath had also raised the issue with the Gulf state's Minister of Economy, Shaikh Lubna Al Qasimi.

The UAE has imposed a temporary ban on the import of all kinds of birds and poultry products from India in July after avian flu was detected in Manipur.

The decision was taken as a precautionary measure following reports by the World Organisation for Animal Health on the emergence of bird flu cases in India.

India had confirmed the detection of bird flu in its remote north eastern state of Manipur on July 25.