The Hindu Business Line : Exporters seek `disease-free' zone status for South

Agency reports said all these countries had banned Indian poultry products following the detection of avian influenza in poultry birds in Nandurbar district in Maharashtra.

"Egg exporters operating in the Namakkal zone have chosen not to lift eggs from the market today owing to apprehension on the fate of their shipment," said Mr Valsan, Secretary of the Namakkal-based All-India Poultry Products Exporters Association.

"Any ban on export of table eggs from India will seriously hit us and in such eventuality, it will further affect the domestic market sale considering the huge volume of shell eggs being exported from Tamil Nadu," he added. The daily egg shipment from Namakkal zone has been in the order of 25-30 lakh eggs.

Mr Valsan said many countries were importing eggs from India for the past two years based on the strict bio-security measures and hygienic standards adopted by the farms in the State.

Considering this, the Union Government should declare the South as the "disease-free" zone to enable continuation of exports. "We have also requested the Centre to extend assurance to the importing countries on the safety of the shipment from the South," he added.

Suguna Poultry Farm Ltd, which exports processed chicken to the Gulf, said the ban on chicken export might not impact much as India's processed chicken market was not export-dependent.

Mr B. Soundararajan, Managing Director, Suguna Poultry, said the ban would not come as a pinch for his company either as its "export of processed chicken is less than 5 per cent of its total sale."

Besides the Gulf, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Nepal, too, is reported to have banned poultry imports from India.

Our Delhi Bureau reports: The Commerce Ministry officials said according to information available to them, only Saudi Arabia had banned imports from India. Annual exports of poultry were only $150 million, but the sector has registered phenomenal growth during the recent years.

Sources said the ban was understandable since people in India itself were wary of eating chicken. The ban, they said, would not have any impact on the overall imports from the country.

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