The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued nine decisions revising Kuwait’s import restrictions on poultry meat, poultry products and table eggs, lifting bans on supplies from seven countries and several regions in the United States and France while imposing new restrictions on areas affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
The seven decisions lifting restrictions cover 56 regions across 21 US states and 11 regions in France. They also remove the import ban on the entirety of Austria, Bangladesh, Argentina, the United Kingdom and Pakistan, following the reported end of bird flu outbreaks in the areas concerned.
The lifted restrictions apply to fresh, chilled, frozen and processed poultry meat of all types, along with poultry derivatives, other poultry products and table eggs. The measures restore import eligibility for products originating in the regions and countries covered by the decisions.
At the same time, the ministry issued two decisions prohibiting imports of poultry meat, poultry derivatives and products, as well as table eggs, from three regions in the United States and one region in France following outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The restrictions cover poultry products in fresh, chilled, frozen and processed forms. However, products that have undergone sufficient heat treatment to eliminate the virus are exempt from the import ban.
The nine decisions, published in the official gazette Kuwait Today, take effect from their respective dates of issuance and publication. The ministry has instructed the relevant authorities to implement the decisions and comply with their provisions.
The measures reflect a region-specific approach to poultry import controls, with restrictions lifted where outbreaks have ended and maintained or introduced in areas where the disease has been reported. The decisions distinguish between affected and unaffected regions rather than applying a blanket ban across entire countries.