Japanese ban Canadian poultry imports

Japan has placed a temporary ban on all poultry imports from Canada following the discovery of a case of avian influenza in a duck on a farm in southwestern British Columbia.

According to a Japanese official, Japan would halt poultry imports from any country where there has been an actual or reported outbreak of bird flu.

In the year 2004/05 chicken consumption in Japan reached 1.62 million tonnes, of that, about 371,000 tonnes were imported, and 84 tonnes of that was from Canada.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed early in the week that tests on a farm duck in British Columbia were positive for a non lethal North American strain of avian influenza.

Nevertheless health officials were still prepared to cull about 60,000 birds as a preventive measure.

The United States and Hong Kong have also banned the import of poultry from British Columbia after the discovery of the disease.