Livestock farmers urge Govt to take measures to resume egg exports to Qatar

The Dollar Business Bureau

The livestock farmers in India have prodded the Government to initiate measures in order to resume the exports of eggs to Qatar, which is now buying the commodity from EU and US at higher prices after the Gulf nation was isolated by its neighbours. 

Before 2008, India was meeting 80% of Qatar’s requirements for table eggs. However, after the outbreak of bird flu (avian influenza) in 2006 and 2008 in the northern region of the country, Qatar banned poultry products from India including eggs, according to the Livestock & Agri Farmers Trade Association.

Despite norms set by the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) to remove the ban after a surveillance of 90 days and to allow imports from unaffected regions, the Gulf nation did not open up its markets to India but started importing from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“Now due to the recent isolation by the Gulf countries, the supplies have been stopped from these countries and the country is buying eggs at a higher price from EU and American nations,’’ said Livestock & Agri Farmers Trade Association’s General Secretary Dr P V Senthil. 

Bahrain and Oman have already allowed imports of poultry egg from India after certifying the exporters with certification of animal quarantine health for every consignment.

“The same yardstick may be adopted for exports to Qatar,’’ Senthil said. 

India has exported 4,49,527 MT of poultry products to the world worth around Rs.53,164.70 lakhs during the financial year 2016-17. Out of that, the country exported 446,459.16 MT of eggs (including fresh, dried, not dried, in shell, not in shell, yolks and others) worth Rs.50137.76 lakhs, according to the data of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

The major export destinations for egg exports are Oman, Maldives, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Russia.