- The European Commission on Tuesday suspended EU imports
of poultry and eggs from the United States after an outbreak of highly-contagious
bird flu in Texas.
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- European Union health commissioner David Byrne said the
initally one-month import ban, hitting trade worth over 20 million euros
(25 million dollars) annually, will be reviewed by EU farm ministers next
month.
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- The US embassy in Brussels said in response that Washington
hoped to persuade the EU rapidly to scale back the ban, by taking action
to contain and eliminate the Texas outbreak.
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- Byrne acknowledged the economic impact of the ban, but
justified the US-wide ban on health grounds. "Safety is what comes
first... Trade considerations are important, but they are secondary to
the protection of public health," he said.
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- "This immediate ban is designed to protect the high
health status of the European poultry flocks," he said after the commission
confirmed the suspension.
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- The commission, the EU's executive arm, was informed
late Monday of the Texas outbreak -- the fourth US state to be hit with
the virus following outbreaks in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
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- Byrne said the Texas outbreak was more serious than the
other US cases because the strain of virus there is more contagious.
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- He added that the ban will remain in place until March
23 when it will be reviewed at a meeting of EU farm ministers in Brussels.
EU veterinary experts will meet next week to confirm the commission ban,
as required by EU rules.
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- The Texas outbreak was detected among a flock of chickens
on a farm in the county of Gonzales, which was quarantined, the Texas Animal
Health Commission.
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- But US authorities stressed the virus was not the same
deadly strain known as H5N1 that has swept across Asia this winter, and
does not appear to be linked to the other US outbreaks.
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- An official at the US embassy in Brussels said Washington
hopes to present evidence to the European Commission within 30 days to
persuade it to limit the ban to birds and eggs from the parts of Texas
afflicted by the virus.
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- "The swift and significant action taken by both
US state and federal authorities should very quickly contain and eliminate
the disease outbreak," said the official, Dan Sheesley,
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- The EU imports primarily day-old chicks and eggs for
consumption and live eggs for farmers from the United States, Byrne said.
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- Those imports are substantial: 13,000 tonnes of eggs
are imported annually, representing 25 percent of such imports with a value
of 20 million euros. The EU also imports some 800,000 chicks every year,
with a value of 2.5 million euros, of which 450,000 come from the United
States.
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- The EU health commissioner said he plans to discuss the
issue with US authorities during a trip to Washington on March 18-19.
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- He declined to rule out further steps if necessary. "We
will undoubtedly keep the issue under review... to determine what if any
further measures need to be taken," he said.
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- But Byrne, noting that most poultry and egg imports from
the US come from the eastern states, also suggested the ban could be partially
lifted if US officials give enough guarantees that the Texas outbreak has
been contained.
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- "If the US authorities are able to regionalize this
problem, and contain it to ensure also traceability, it may very well be
that in those circumstances we can regionalize the US so that we can take
imports from other states," he said.
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- The EU last month suspended imports of Thai chicken and
pet birds from Asia after the outbreak there, which has since spread to
10 nations and killed 22 people. The Asian ban is to last until at least
August.
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- Text Copyright © 2004 AFP.
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- http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040224113607.bhcq0rjf
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