Importers on lookout for swine flu spillover effects

Food importers in the UAE are keenly watching the situation arising from the outbreak of swine flu and whether there is any spillover effect on other meat products such as beef and poultry.

Most countries have already banned pork imports from the region where the disease is said to have originated – Mexico and the US.

The UAE has gone a step further and completely banned the import of all pork products.

Some countries, such as Russia and Japan, have banned the import of even beef and poultry from countries in the affected region – the Americas – fearing a spillover of any health hazards to other meat products.

In the UAE, leading poultry importers are keenly watching the situation and for any spillover effect on poultry from areas close to the affected region, such as Latin America – especially from Brazil, which supplies more than half of the frozen chicken consumed in this region.

Poultry industry sources said there was concern about the swine virus spreading from Mexico, while they were keeping their fingers crossed about chicken imports from Brazil. Along with chicken, Brazil is also a major exporter of pork and the country's share in the GCC meat market has already reached record levels.

Brazilian chicken is a major food product sold through various retail outlets in the UAE –supermarkets and groceries. Summer is a lean period for chicken demand, but it still is a major product in the UAE retail space. Earlier, Brazil had started investigating two cases of suspected swine flu, which proved to be false alarms.

"Russia and Japan have already banned beef and poultry from certain US states. In the UAE, pork is already banned but there is no information about poultry. Brazil is a major supplier of frozen chicken in the UAE market and we don't think there is any problem with poultry imports from Brazil," said an official from a leading supermarket chain in the UAE.

Brazil controls more than 50 per cent of the frozen chicken market in the UAE and the rest of the Gulf countries. Its market share went up sharply after Indian and Thai chicken imports were banned earlier. The UAE's annual chicken demand is estimated to be between 30,000 and 40,000 million tonnes , and about half of it is imported.

To ensure that imported chicken meets local standards, local health officials occasionally travel to supplier countries to inspect production and processing facilities. "If the supplier country's processing facility is found unsanitary, products from that facility will be immediately suspended.

"Established brands are checked randomly at ports of entry for salmonella or other pathogenic contamination. If a tested sample exceeds permissible levels of the detected bacterium, a second sample, taken at the time of the first one, is tested," said an earlier report on the UAE poultry market.

"If that sample, too, shows a level of bacterium in excess of the permissible level, the shipment will be rejected. Locally produced poultry is subject to the same monitoring regime as that for imported products by public health officials," the report said.

According to Apex Brazil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, two years ago Brazil registered an 81 per cent share in the poultry market of the GCC countries plus Yemen, and had an average annual growth of 26 per cent between 2002 and 2007. Latin American countries are becoming attractive to global companies for sourcing goods, Intertek, which has set up 20 new test laboratories in Mexico in 2008, said in a recent report.


Regional pharma sector on alert

The pharmaceutical industry in the region is all geared up and awaiting any alert signals from the authorities to react and provide the necessary support, said one of the leading professionals from the industry.

Ever since the earlier threatening times of bird flu, Abu Dhabi-based pharmaceutical manufacturer started working on Oseltamivir with an intention of gearing up for a second major outbreak.

Dr BR Shetty, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Neopharma, has informed that the company's product is awaiting final registration with the Ministry of Health, the UAE.

"In case there is a swine flu outbreak in the region, the Ministry of Health will immediately alert pharmaceutical manufacturers like us and with their support, we should be able to supply the medicine where required."

Shetty recollects an earlier such episode when there was a meningitis outbreak in the country. "When the first case was reported, I immediately arranged for the meningococcal vaccines to be flown in from Sanofi Pasteur, France. Sufficient quantities were stockpiled and the vaccines were distributed to the needy. If swine flu threat becomes imminent, I am always ready to lend my fullest support. Right now we have enough stock to combat the infection and are prepared to support the emergency medical needs during the times of a flu epidemic."

In support of the back-up plans for any unexpected eventualities, Shetty said that the entire pharmeceuticals industry is well equipped to handle such a situation. He recalled that the whole world was in fear of a possible bird flu pandemic. "Now, there is a global threat of a swine flu. But, together with authorities, we can ensure a prompt response to any possible outbreak in the region," said Shetty.

Neopharma is Abu Dhabi 's premier pharmaceutical company. Started in 2003, the company has been introducing new products in quick succession. Fully focused on manufacturing a wide range of pharmaceutical products, Neopharma covers medicines in segments such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, antihistamines, cardiovasculars and drugs to manage diabetes. (Staff)

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