SEJONG: South Korea will lift its six-month ban on imports of poultry from the Netherlands as no additional outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) have occurred there since the measure was imposed late last year, the agriculture ministry said Friday.
The imports are set to resume next month, as soon as it has been agreed that there are no contradicting opinions from related agencies or specialists that say otherwise, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Seoul had discontinued imports of poultry as well as avian pets, such as chickens, ducks and parrots, following an AI outbreak in Europe last year.
In 2014, South Korea imported 143 tons of chicken meat from the Netherlands, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Duck products were not imported.
The Netherlands is South Korea’s fifth-largest supplier of the meat after the United States, Brazil, Denmark and Hungary.
Earlier this year, the agriculture ministry also lifted poultry import bans on Australia and Britain.
