Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 5/6/14
 
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Monday that after almost seven years Virginia poultry exports will resume to China.

The ban, instituted in July 2007, has been rescinded by China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and by China’s Ministry of Agriculture.

“Poultry is the largest individual sector of Virginia’s agriculture industry and increased exports will help support farm, processing, and transportation related jobs in the Commonwealth. This will also bring enormous business benefits to the Port of Virginia at a critical time for that entity,” McAuliffe said in a statement.  

Since 2007, following an isolated case of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) reported on a single farm in Virginia, China has maintained a ban on all poultry produced in Virginia, poultry transiting through Virginia, and poultry that is exported from any port in Virginia.

Virginia officials have long contended that China’s ban was not justified by scientific data, as the isolated LPAI occurrence did not pose a food safety or poultry health risk.

China is currently one of the top foreign markets for U.S. poultry, purchasing more than $416 million in 2013, with Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina as leading suppliers.

Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore estimated that based on China’s current poultry purchases from other nearby states, Virginia stands to gain $20 million or more in export sales each year.

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