Ecuador latest to impose nationwide ban on US poultry
The Ecuadorian agricultural authority Agrocalidad has banned all imports of live foul, poultry meat and poultry products, as well as genetic material, including chicks and hatching eggs, from the US, in response to the recent avian influenza outbreaks.
In 2014 Ecuador imported $6m of live foul, poultry meat, poultry products, as well as egg and egg products, from the country, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
This is another blow to the US poultry industry after two of its major trading partners, South Korea and China, imposed a nationwide ban on imports, costing an estimated $36m per month.
The US Agricultural Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection service has so far reported outbreaks in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Minnesota, Arkansas, Kansas, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Montana.
An estimated 7.3m birds have been culled since the beginning of the outbreak at the end of 2014.
