The European Commission approved at the end of last week the resumption of imports of poultry meat and poultry products from Romania so that the decision could become effective within two weeks, after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The president of the National Sanitary and Veterinary Authority, Ion Agafitei, made the announcement yesterday.
The union had suspended poultry imports from Romania in October 2005, following the first outbreak of avian flu in birds in Romania. About one and a half months latter, the EU approved the resumption of imports from 16 local counties in which the virus had not been found.
Until the discovery of the first outbreaks, Romania had exported in the first 10 months of 2005 approximately 2,500 tons of poultry meat, according to data from the Romanian Poultry Breeders Association (UCPR).
Resuming exports to the EU will not be an easy task because local producers have practically exited the market and restoring contacts is hard, said the president of Avicola Bacau, one of the chief exporters. UCPR representatives estimate the total loss the local industry suffered was approximately 48.5 million euros.
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