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Veronica Garabelli// May 5, 2014//
The commonwealth has been given the green light to export poultry to China once again, Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office announced Monday.
China banned poultry exported from the commonwealth in 2007 after a case of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) was reported on a Virginia farm. Virginia officials 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.
Virginia and federal officials have been working to lift the ban since it was implemented in 2007.
“Based on China’s current poultry purchases from other nearby states, we believe that Virginia stands to gain $20 million or more in export sales each year,” Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore said in a statement.
According to McAuliffe’s office, 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.
