Veronica Garabelli// June 17, 2014//
On Tuesday, Virginia shipped its first poultry export to China in seven years.
China banned poultry exported from the commonwealth in 2007 after a case of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) was reported on a Virginia farm, but that ban was lifted in May. Virginia estimates adding at least $20 million in new exports to China in 2014.
The shipment from Perdue Foods’ Norfolk facility included chicken wing tips. It will leave the Port of Virginia on Friday and arrive in Shenzhen, China, on Aug. 3.
Perdue says it expects to increase its shipments from Virginia by 35 percent this year as a result of the ban being lifted.