The government has taken a strict step for the health safety of expatriates and citizens living in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has completely banned the import of poultry and eggs from a total of 40 countries including India, Nepal and Bangladesh. This decision has been taken in view of the dangers of bird flu (HPAI) so that the common people can be kept safe and the spread of any kind of disease can be prevented.
Which 40 countries have a complete ban?
The new list released by SFDA includes Asian, African and European countries. Import of live birds or raw eggs from these countries will no longer be possible. This list is updated from time to time and considering the current situation, these countries have been kept in the category of ‘Total Ban’. You can see the names of all those countries in the table given below.
Sl. Name of the country no. Country Name 1 India 21 United Kingdom (UK) 2 Bangladesh 22 Nepal 3 China 23 Egypt 4 Afghanistan 24 Germany 5 Indonesia 25 Iran 6 Iraq 26 Mexico 7 Vietnam 27 Japan 8 South Korea 28 North Korea 9 Philippines 29 Hong Kong 10 Myanmar 30 Nigeria 11 South Africa 31 Sudan 12 Libya 32 Palestine 13 Cambodia 33 Bulgaria 14 Kazakhstan 34 Azerbaijan 15 Bosnia & Herzegovina 35 Taiwan 16 Djibouti 36 Ghana 17 Cameroon 37 Laos 18 Mongolia 38 Niger 19 Burkina Faso 39 Serbia 20 Slovenia 40 Ivory Coast & Montenegro
What are the rules of partial withholding and exemption?
Apart from the complete ban, there are 16 countries on which a partial ban has been imposed. This means that imports are prohibited from certain areas of countries like the US, Canada, France and Australia, but not from the entire country. At the same time, some relief has also been given in the rules. If poultry products have been heat-treated to kill the virus, they may be allowed. For this, it is mandatory to have an official health certificate along with the goods which proves that the product is safe.