UAE lifts ban on Indian poultry products

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted the ban on import of eggs and other poultry products from India.

The UAE Minister for Environment and Water Mohammed Saeed Al Kindi issued an administrative decree lifting the ban imposed on the importing of live birds and poultry products from countries hit by bird flu, including India, the official Emirates news agency reported yesterday.

It said the ministry's decision to lift the ban was based on information from the World Organisation for Animal Health which gave India a clean chit for the safety measures taken to get bird flu under total control. The decision was also based on coordination among the ministry, the National Emergency Committee and the General Secretariat of UAE municipalities.

The UAE had imposed the ban in February 2006, following the avian flu outbreak reported in India. Other Gulf countries like Muscat and Doha also had banned Indian poultry following the outbreak, but it was lifted last year following an official declaration from OIE (Organisation of Internationale Epidemia or the World Organisation of Animal Health) on India's poultry disease free-status, sources said.

Two weeks ago, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath had requested the UAE's Minister of Economy Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi to lift the ban, at a meeting in New Delhi.

UAE imports about 10 lakh eggs per day and out of this, about 35% was from Namakkal in Tamil Nadu, India's poultry hub. After the ban, UAE was importing eggs from Europe, at a price of about Rs 6-7 per egg, sources said.