Previous bird flu outbreaks were registered in Ukraine's Crimea in 2008 / Photo from UNIAN
The European Commission has resumed poultry and eggs imports from Ukrainian areas free from avian influenza after restrictions were introduced in December 2016, according to the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry's press service.
"Ukraine and the European Commission have agreed on resumption of exports of Ukrainian poultry to the EU. As of today, shipments of chicken meat to the European market have already been launched," the press service said in a statement.
Ukraine's ministry managed to agree with the European side that only regional restrictions will be imposed on exports. Therefore, the ban will apply only to shipments of poultry from Kherson, Odesa, and Chernivtsi regions, where avian flu has been registered.
"Regionalization was one of the most sensitive issues in talks with the European Commission. As a result, the regionalization principle in trade in poultry and products made of poultry has already been used following the discussions and decisions made by the EU and Ukraine," the press service quoted Ukrainian Minister Taras Kutoviy as saying.
Read alsoEU bans imports of Ukrainian poultry due to bird fluThe ministry added that Ukraine hopes to further simplify the mutual trade regime with the EU based on data provided by the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection. The agency also hopes to adapt the Ukrainian legislation to the provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) to mutually recognize equivalence.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the first outbreaks of bird flu in Ukraine in 2016 were recorded in Kherson region on November 30. Previous bird flu outbreaks were registered in Ukraine's Crimea in 2008 (four cases).
In response, the European Union banned imports of Ukrainian poultry on December 6.
At the beginning of January 2017, new outbreaks were detected in Chernivtsi and Odesa regions. As a result, Belarus and Hong Kong also introduced restrictions on imports of poultry and eggs from those areas.
Avian influenza is an acute viral infection of birds, which is characterized by general weakness, edema, lesion of respiratory organs and the gastrointestinal tract. Both domestic and wild migratory birds are prone to influenza. The main carriers of the infection are migratory waterfowls. As soon as the relevant disease is detected on any territory, the authorities impose restrictions on the export of poultry from that country and take appropriate measures to eliminate the disease (quarantine, zoning, and disinfection). Avian influenza causes significant economic damage to both the state and producers.