Bird flu cuts into egg, poultry exports in Iowa, Midwest

Source: AP

BY DAVID PITT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Some international trade partners are declining to buy egg and poultry products from Midwestern states that have been affected by a deadly strain of bird flu, while others are excluding imports only from counties where the virus has surfaced.

The H5N2 virus has cost turkey and chicken producers over 7 million birds since early March. Federal agriculture officials say the food supply is safe.

A few countries - including China, Russia, South Korea and Thailand - have shut off all imports of poultry products from the United States. Mexico, Japan and Canada are among 33 countries declining to accept poultry products from entire states, including Iowa, the nation's leading egg producer, and Minnesota, the top turkey grower in the U.S.

Other countries, including Hong Kong, limit the ban to counties where the virus has been confirmed. Some countries - including Honduras, Kazakhstan and Qatar - require products to be heated to a temperature that will kill the virus before they'll accept poultry products.

FULL story at link.



THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this Nov. 16, 2009 file photo, chickens stand in their cages at a farm near Stuart, Iowa.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BIRD_FLU_EXPORTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT