China has banned imports of sheep, goats, poultry and even ungulates from African, Asian and European countries due to outbreaks of livestock diseases such as sheeppox, goatpox and foot-and-mouth disease.
The ban, which also includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after the World Health Organization released information about disease outbreaks in several countries, according to a series of announcements from China’s General Administration of Customs dated on January 21.
The ban on the world’s largest meat importer affects Ghana, Somalia, Qatar, Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Tanzania, Egypt, Bulgaria, East Timor and Eritrea.
China also said it has stopped imports of sheep, goats and related products from Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh due to outbreaks of sheep and goat pox.
It also blocked imports of even ungulates and related products from Germany following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, it said.
