JAPAN SUSPENDS FRENCH POULTRY IMPORTS

Japan has temporarily suspended imports of French poultry and raw foie gras after an outbreak of bird flu occurred on a farm in the western part of France. The decision was made at the beginning of February by the Ministry of Agriculture in Tokyo, after the French government had tempestively made note that it had revealed a strain of the virus pertaining to the H5 pathogen.

The ban regards solely fresh merchandise and excludes products like smoked foie gras. France is the top exporter of foie gras to Japan, which consumed 404 tons of raw foie gras in 2008, but may now look to other countries to satisfy its demand.