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poultry ban opposes
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CHINA has voiced strong opposition to decisions by Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to ban imports of its poultry for fear of “bird flu”, State media reported yesterday.
“The ban is unreasonable and inconsistent with international rules,” said Gao Yan, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation.
She was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying the ban was imposed “without scientific or factual proof” and was “frivolous and irresponsible”.
The ROK banned imports of Chinese poultry on June 4 after discovering the virus in Chinese ducks.
Officials said the virus was the same as that found in poultry in Hong Kong on May 16, after which some 1.2 million chickens had to be slaughtered.
Japan imposed the ban on June 8, citing the ROK's announcement, and said it would remain effective until Japanese health authorities confirmed Chinese poultry was safe.
Gao said the duck meat which the ROK said contained traces of the virus, came from the Shanghai-based Daying Meat and Poultry Packing Company but that no traces of bird flu were found there.
Gao said the ROK's announcement was made “without coming up with any test proof” and criticized Japan's decision, saying it was “based merely on information provided by the ROK”.
China is demanding that the ROK and Japan “act in accordance with the principles of science and fairness, reconsider the steps they have taken and resolve the problem as soon as possible,” Xinhua said.(SD-Agencies)
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