RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has placed a temporary ban on the import of Indian poultry products, following the recent outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu in several parts of the country, reported foreign media.
Saudi Arabia joined other West Asian countries such as Kuwait in banning the imports of poultry from India, which reported about seven instances of bird flu outbreak during 2016 with the latest being in Khordha district of Odisha. Saudi Arabia was the second largest buyer of Indian poultry products in 2015-16. As per DGCIS, India’s poultry exports to Saudi Arabia stood at 95.64 crore Indian rupees, accounting for over 12 per cent of the country’s total poultry shipments of 766.71 crore Indian rupees in 2015-16.