Australia works with PNG on poultry ban

9:05 am on 22 April 2015

Australia's Department of Agriculture says they are working with Papua New Guinea authorities to lift the indefinite ban imposed on imported uncooked poultry products from Australia.

The indefinite ban was announced by PNG's Agriculture and Livestock Minister, TommyTomscoll , last week due to ongoing concerns about potential health threats.

However, the Australian High Commission says Australia's strong regulatory controls provided a high level of confidence in poultry meat exported from the country.

It says Maintaining market access for Australian agricultural products, including poultry exports to PNG, remains a key priority for Australia.

PNG's Farmers and Settlers Association have welcomed the ban saying the local industry needs to be protected and promoted.

The President of PNG's Poultry Industry Association, Keith Galgal, says PNG farmers believe they deserve the same bio-security policies as Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, which only allow cooked poultry products to be imported.

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