TAJIKISTAN POULTRY BAN CONFUSION; AVIAN FLU: ADDRESSING

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001981

SIPDIS


STATE FOR EUR/CACEN, SA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD EAGR EAID PREL TBIO SENV TI USTR
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN POULTRY BAN CONFUSION; AVIAN FLU: ADDRESSING
AI-RELATED IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON POULTRY- STATE 216147

REF: STATE 216147


1. Although the government of Tajikistan officially issued
poultry bans on ten countries, customs inspectors are unaware of
the new regulations. Mahmadnazar Tashrifov, Senior Inspector of
the Department of Veterinary Service reported that to date, the
department has authorized three resolutions banning poultry
products. In April, it banned imports of meat products
including poultry from Afghanistan and China because they had
reported cases of foot-and-mouth disease. August 5, Tajikistan
banned imports of poultry from Russia and Kazakhstan, and
October 25 it banned poultry products from China, Vietnam,
Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, Croatia, and Turkey. Confirmed
cases of Avian Flu motivated the State Veterinary Inspection to
enact these bans. The bans will be in place until the State
Veterinary Inspection decides to lift them. Tashrifov could not
predict when that would be.


2. In a meeting December 7, PolOff informed Ibrokhim Mirzoev,
Deputy Head of the Customs Department of the Ministry of State
Revenue and Duties of the ten bans in place. Mirzoev said he
was unaware and has received no instruction from the Ministry of
Agriculture to implement the bans. Customs has taken stringent
measures to prevent Avian Flu from entering the country.
Mirzoev assured that all imported poultry is tested for the H5N1
virus in Tajik laboratories before it is permitted on the
market. Tajikistan inspects and tests all poultry, even if it
has been certified clear of H5N1 by the exporter. Although
customs does inspect imported poultry, they still allow imports
from countries on the banned list such as Russia, Kazakhstan and
China.


3. Overall, Tajikistan imported 20% less poultry products
compared to last year. This gap has been filled by a 40%
increase in domestic poultry production. The government
implemented a quarantine on state poultry farms and has made a
concerted effort to grow their own poultry stock. The price of
poultry products has not markedly changed. This year,
Tajikistan imported $480,000 worth of poultry meat from the
United States, placing the United States third after Lithuania
and the United Arab Emirates as the leading vendors of poultry
to Tajikistan. Tashrifov maintains Tajikistan will continue to
import more poultry from the United States.


4. Comment: Tajikistan's young government is becoming more
professional, so it was surprising that the Head of Customs
would be unaware of the government's recent decrees. It would
not be surprising, given the level of corruption, if importers
found ways around the ban. END COMMENT
HOAGLAND


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