China has banned the import of sheep, goats, poultry and ungulates from African, Asian and European countries due to outbreaks of livestock diseases, such as sheep and goat pox, as well as foot-and-mouth disease, Reuters reported.
The ban, which also includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) published information on disease outbreaks in various countries, according to a series of announcements by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) dated January 21, BTA reports.
The ban from the world's largest meat importer affects Ghana, Somalia, Qatar, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Bulgaria, East Timor and Eritrea.
Beijing also announced that it has stopped the import of sheep, goats and related products from Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh due to outbreaks of sheep and goat pox in these countries.
There is also a ban on the import of only ungulates and related products from Germany following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease there, the announcement said.