EU bans imports of breeding chicks from US
The ban could result in a shortage of chicken and turkey meat in Europe as two major sources of supply Thailand and the US have now been shut down.
The ban was announced by Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner David Byrne yesterday, who said it will be in place for at least a month.
The US Department of Agriculture said a highly fatal form of the virus broke out among 7,000 birds near San Antonio in Texas.
The virus is not as contagious as the strain wiping out poultry in Thailand and Vietnam at the rate of 95% in 24 hours, but is much more virulent than the previous case discovered in Texas last Friday. Mr Byrne announcing the ban in Brussels said: "we want to make sure there is no risk to poultry in Europe and the ban will apply until March 23, but we will keep the situation under review to see if any further measures are required."
He expects the US authorities will give the EU full details including what they are doing to keep the outbreak under control. He will visit Washington in three weeks' time when he will have discussions with the authorities there, including Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.
The EU does not import chicken meat from the US because they use chlorine to decontaminate it a practice banned in the EU, but the 15 countries are highly dependent on imports of young chicks and hatching eggs.
About a quarter of the eggs imported into the EU or 13,000 tonnes of eggs, worth €20 million, come from the US. About half of them are used for eating and the rest hatch to produce chicks.
A half of young, day-old mainly turkey chicks are imported into the EU from the US. This trade of about 800,000 birds is worth €2.5m annually.
Mr Byrne said it was difficult to gauge at this stage if the bans would mean a shortage of poultry meat and eggs. "The EU is not self-sufficient and there is a risk that there will be an ongoing or initial impact."
