S. Africa suspends poultry exports to EU

At a meeting, the Department’s Director General Masiphula Mbongwa and EU Director General of Health and Consumer Protection, Robert Medalin, agreed on recommendations made earlier to halt specific exports.

South Africa will instead concentrate on building the resource base of those commodities in order to build up substantial quantities for later export. When South Africa’s stock levels are sufficient enough to resume trade, the country will make an application to activate the export of those commodities.

In the meeting, issues regarding bio-security and disaster management were also discussed. “Our discussions were fruitful and hold promising prospects for a continued healthy trade with the EU,” said Mbongwa.

In 2004, ostriches on farms from the Cape tested positive for bird flu. Consequently, meat from South Africa was banned from entering European markets. Ostrich and emus meat, as well as eggs, were again banned in mid-2006 following an outbreak of the H5N2 virus on farms in the Western Cape. In November last year, the EU accepted South Africa’s status being free of Highly Pathogenic Notifiable Avian Influenza (HPNAI) and the ban was lifted.

 

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