News India and US make progress in bilateral trade talks
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associated with the WHO One Health initiative seek a ban on wet markets and closures of abattoirs that do not follow safety guidelines.
India’s ambassador to the United States told reporters that concluding current negotiations on a limited trade deal is a vital first step in creating a compre-hensive trade pact in the future.
According to reporting in The Print, hundreds of doctors sent a letter to Harsh Vardhan demanding stricter meat industry regulations to avoid future pandemics.
Ta r a n j i t S i n g h S a n d h u , I n d i a ’s ambassador to the United States said that the two nations are making progress towards a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement.
The letter cites the likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic: a wet market in Wuhan, China. The letter calls for a ban on such marketplaces due to their ability to spread deadly viruses.
"First step to realise trade partnership is to conclude ongoing trade negotiations," said Taranjit Singh Sandhu during a vir tual summit organised by an industry body. India and the United States have been struggling for more than a year to conclude the limited trade deal, sparring over higher tariffs and New Delhi's policies on e-commerce and data storage.
The latter also calls for the closure of slaughterhouses that do not follow India’s Food Safety and Standards A u th o ri ty (FS S A I ) gu i de l i n e s o r established norms under India’s 2001 slaughterhouse rules.
Sandhu said the two nations were engaged in talks to get greater access for agricultural products in each other's markets. Washington has been pressing New Delhi to roll back higher tariffs on a slew of farm products.
“Several studies reported that banning the storage of live poultry in live markets at least for a short period of time for overnight drastically reduced the ability to isolate the avian influenza viruses by 84 percent compared with the standard procedures. Such studies show that a permanent ban on the live markets will help in the prevention of such zoonotic diseases,” the letter stated.
India’s doctors call for India’s poultry farmers stricter meat industry seek $2.7 billion of relief rules to prevent future after COVID-19 panic pandemics India’s poultry industry needs a In a letter sent to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, 100 doctors 36
social media speculation that chickens could spread the coronavirus.
According to reporting from Bloomberg News and the Deccan Herald, farm gate chicken prices have slumped by as much as 70 percent in March compared to January prices. Poultry farmer and Chairman of the International Egg Commission Suresh Chitturi explained that the drop forced many farmers to cull their flocks, causing huge losses. Though prices have recovered, banks aren’t willing to lend to farmers. Chitturi estimates that farmers need $2.7 billion in loans. Bank financing forms a critical component of India’s poultry industry, which is worth an estimated $14 billion. He warns that the industry won’t survive without the funding. Many farmers are at risk of defaulting on their existing loans which are worth approximately $3.3 billion. “We were beaten by [social media] rumours which almost killed the poultry business.” Chitturi says. “We don’t want any freebie,” says Chitturi, “we just need the cash to expand and we will pay back the money. We have seen an increase in demand recently and prices are also good because of a shortage in supplies.”
bailout after prices plummeted earlier this year due to incorrect Poultry Planner | Vol. 22 | No.07 | September - 2020
