AGREEMENT.
Imports blocked since 2004
STAFF
A new agreement between the Canadian and Mexican governments is expected to restore exports of Canadian poultry genetics to Mexico.
“We’re very pleased to hear that the export of hatching eggs, day-old chicks and turkey poults from Canada to Mexico can restart after Canada received confirmation that Mexican authorities informed their border points of entry,” federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a release.
Mexico has blocked such imports from Canada since March 2004, when an outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of H7N3 avian influenza hit several commercial poultry farms in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.
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With this agreement in hand, the Canadian industry estimates exports of the affected products from Canada could potentially reach $2 million per year, the government said.
In terms of Mexico’s overall market, its imports of day-old chicks and poults and hatching eggs from all countries were valued at $18.2 million in 2009, the government said.
Ritz’s announcement follows “numerous exchanges and high-level interventions” with the Mexican government, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
