SLOVENIA ON AI-RELATED POULTRY IMPORT RESTRICTIONS

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000848

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, EB/CBA
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE FOR FAS/DLP, FAS/ITP, FAS/ICD
EMBASSY VIENNA FOR QUINTIN GRAY AND SARAH HANSON
USTR FOR ERRION

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD EAGR ECON SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA ON AI-RELATED POULTRY IMPORT RESTRICTIONS

REF: A. SECSTATE 216147


B. LJUBLJANA 0757


1. (U) Econ Specialist delivered ref A points to Rok Tomsic,
U.S. desk officer at the Slovene Ministry of the Economy, and
Simona Salamon, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer at the
Ministry of Agriculture. As reported ref B, Slovenia
currently bans poultry imports from 14 countries, all of
which have had cases of H5N1. Tomsic noted that Slovenia
currently does not import any poultry products from the U.S.


2. (U) Slovenia's action plan to fight avian flu (ref B) does
not include a strategy to place a general ban on poultry
imports in the event of an outbreak of avian flu. Rather,
the action plan targets specific countries where highly
pathogenic strains have been discovered. In Slovenia, the
responsibility for placing health-related restrictions on
imports of poultry rests with the Ministry of Agriculture.
ROBERTSON


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