Spread of avian influenza in the State has choked the scope of exports of eggs and poultry products from Odisha as a number of countries have banned import of these food items from India.
With reports of break of bird flu, the Qatar National Health Authority (QNHA) has banned all sorts of eggs and poultry products from India.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has informed the State Government in this regard.
Outbreak of avian influenza in Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand has resulted in such ban, which has caused havoc for the poultry industry sector.
Not only Qatar but also Saudia Arabia, Kuwait and Hong Kong have also imposed ban on import of eggs, poultry products from India and exporters based in India are a worried lot.
While now these countries are not accepting poultry products from India, at the same time they are sending back these food products earlier imported, which is coming as a big blow for the poultry industry.
Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand are the major suppliers of eggs and frozen chickens to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has especially banned eggs and poultry products from Puri district and Munger district of Bihar. Qatar has also banned poultry products and Saudi Arabia has banned live birds, hatching eggs and day-old chicks from the country.
Joint Secretary Commerce, Keshav Chandra has brought to the notice of the Odisha Government about the ban and urged for taking steps to contain the avian influenza and set the export system in proper place.
Due to such ban, bilateral trade between India and these countries has received a serious setback. In fact these countries are significant trade partners of India, especially for poultry products, said Chandra.
These countries imposed the ban as they received report from World Health Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in this regard.
The Qatar Government has imposed the ban due to prevalence of highly pathogenic avian influenza based on latest report of the OIE.
Under this backdrop, distressed exporters have approached the Union Government to request the State Governments concerned to contain avian influenza and take precaution in this regard, so that these countries will revoke ban and suspension on imports.
