No chicks or eggs: Saudi bans Indian poultry products on bird flu scare

Exporters fear other importing countries might follow suit

Four weeks after the World Organisation for Animal Health reported an avian influenza outbreak, Saudi Arabia has temporarily banned imports of poultry products from India.

In a note dated January 2, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) informed Indian poultry exporters, “The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia has decided to impose a temporary ban on the import of live birds, hatching eggs and chicks from India due to the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.” Such bans, however, are periodically reviewed and lifted in three months.

Saudi Arabia is the second largest