Saudi imposes ban on poultry import from 40 nations including India

Jeddah: Saudi Arabia has imposed a complete ban on the import of poultry and eggs from 40 countries around the world, including India, as part of a bid to prevent the spread of animal diseases, including bird flu. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) said that this drastic measure is to protect public health and ensure food security in the country. The authority updated the list of countries that have imposed the ban based on global health conditions and disease outbreak reports. The SFDA also clarified that the list is revised at regular intervals based on international risk assessments.

Apart from India, there is currently a complete ban on imports from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Djibouti, South Africa, China, Iraq, Ghana, Palestine, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, South Korea, North Korea, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Britain, Egypt, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Japan, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Serbia, Slovenia, Côte d'Ivoire, and Montenegro.

According to local media outlet ‘Ukad’, it includes countries that have been on the ban list since 2004 and newly added countries, considering the current situation.

In addition to the 40 countries, there are partial restrictions on imports from certain cities or provinces in 16 countries. The list includes Australia, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Bhutan, Poland, Togo, Denmark, Romania, Zimbabwe, France, the Philippines, Canada, Malaysia, Austria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This temporary ban is exempt from the ban on meat products that have been scientifically heated or other approved processing methods that help destroy viruses such as bird flu and Newcastle disease. However, Saudi authorities have strictly instructed that these must be certified by official authorities in the exporting countries and meet other health standards.