040314 Mexico Partially Lifts U.S. Poultry BanMarch 9, 2004Mexico City - Mexico has partially lifted a ban on poultry products from the United States, easing an embargo initiated about two weeks ago after an outbreak of bird flu in neighboring Texas, Mexico's Agriculture Department reported Monday. Starting Monday, Mexico allowed imports from the United States of mechanically deboned chicken and turkey parts and deboned thigh meat of turkey, according to the Agriculture Department and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. A ban continues on all poultry products from states where avian flu has been detected, including Texas, Maine, Virginia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California, Delaware, North Carolina, New Jersey and Maryland. On Feb. 24, the Agriculture Department announced a ban on imports of live birds, eggs and poultry products from throughout the United States -- with the exception of some cooked products. The United States exported about $141 million in turkey and $104 million in chicken to Mexico last year, said Toby Moore, spokesman for the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council, a trade group based in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The avian viruses discovered in the United States are not a threat to humans.
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