US embassy cable - 05CAIRO8734

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 008734 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDA/FAS/ICD:BBRANT, ITP:PSHEIKH, CMP:FLEE 
COMMERCE FOR 4520/ITA/ANESA/MTALAAT 
USTR FOR SAUMS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ETRD, TBIO, EG, Avian Influenza 
SUBJECT:  Egypt: Minister of Agriculture Discusses 
Poultry -  Ban and Efforts to Combat Avian Influenza 
 
 
1.  Summary:  Ambassador Ricciardone met with Egyptian 
Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed El Leithy, to discuss the 
Egyptian ban on imports of poultry products from all 
sources, and to discuss the upcoming USDA mission to assess 
status of implementation of the Bio-safety Protocol.  The 
Ambassador also stressed the need to find ways to resolve 
the issue of halal slaughter procedures that have 
effectively kept U.S. poultry meat out of the Egyptian 
market for many years.  The Ambassador used the opportunity 
to thank the Minister for allowing exports of palm fronds 
from Egypt to the United States to be used in the 
celebrations for the Jewish holiday of Succot.  End Summary 
 
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Avian Influenza Related Ban on Imports of Poultry Products 
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2.  On November 14, 2005, Ambassador Ricciardone, 
accompanied by the Agricultural Counselor and Econ Officer, 
met with the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed El 
Leithy, to discuss a range of bilateral issues.  The most 
pressing issue discussed during the meeting was the recent 
decree issued by the Minister to ban imports of all poultry 
products from all sources to protect against the possibility 
of transmitting avian influenza (AI) to the Egyptian 
domestic flock. 
 
3.  The Ambassador pointed out that a blanket ban of this 
nature without regard to the exporting country's AI status 
was excessive and not consistent with guidelines issued by 
international organizations such as the OIE and the FAO. He 
raised the specific issue of shipments of feather meal 
coming from the U.S. to Egypt and stressed that the United 
States was AI free at this time, and that the process to 
produce feather meal involved extremely high temperatures, 
which should eliminate any threat posed by the potential 
presence of AI in products of this type. 
 
4.  The Ambassador informed the Minister that three 
shipments of feather meal, valued at almost $400,000 had 
arrived at the Egyptian ports and are not being allowed 
entry in spite of the fact that they either arrived in Egypt 
prior to the GOE ban being announced or were already on the 
water when the ban was imposed.  The Ambassador requested 
the Minister to help with obtaining clearances through the 
port procedures for all these shipments to avoid any 
additional demurrage costs to the Egyptian importers. 
 
5.  Minister El Leithy responded that although he issued the 
decree to impose this AI-related ban, the decision was 
actually made by a committee that consisted of Ministers of 
Agriculture, Health, Environment, and Aviation.  While the 
Minister was sympathetic to the Embassy concerns, any 
decision to remove the ban or make exceptions for individual 
shipments would have to be made by the Ministerial 
Committee.  The Minister asked the Embassy to make a written 
request and promised to present it to the Committee with a 
positive recommendation from the Ministry of Agriculture to 
make an exception for the shipments that had departed from 
the United States before the ban was announced. 
 
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Ban on U.S. Poultry Meat Imports Due to Halal Slaughter 
Procedures 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
6.  The Ambassador stressed the need to resolve the 
longstanding issue of halal slaughter procedures in the U.S. 
to remove this non-tariff trade barrier.  The Ambassador 
recognized that this restriction was used primarily to 
protect the domestic poultry industry, but argued that many 
U.S. poultry products, especially turkey meat, could be a 
great source of low priced protein for the Egyptian 
consumers, and would not have any impact on the domestic 
poultry industry. 
 
7.  The Minister responded that he was intrigued with the 
possibility of importing turkey meat from the U.S., and 
would like to look for ways to allow such imports once the 
whole issue of the AI-related ban on all poultry products 
was resolved.  He indicated that the AI-related ban on all 
poultry products was expected to remain in effect for three 
months and hoped that the worldwide concerns about the AI 
transmission would subside during this time. (Comment:  This 
is the first time that any senior GOE official has expressed 
flexibility on the halal slaughter issue to allow imports of 
any poultry products.  Post will continue to pursue this 
angle in the hope of eventually eliminating the halal 
slaughter procedures concerns for good.  End Comment) 
 
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GOE Request to Help Establish a Biotechnology National 
Authority 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
8.  The Ambassador informed the Minister that the Egyptian 
Agricultural Counselor in Washington had asked for USG 
assistance in establishing a Biotechnology National 
Authority in the Ministry of Agriculture.  He added that we 
are ready to provide this assistance and a team of USDA 
experts is coming to Egypt during the first week of 
December.  The Ambassador asked the Minister if this GOE 
request had been made with his blessing and had a broader 
approval of other GOE Agencies. 
 
9.  The Minister indicated that he wanted to pursue the idea 
of establishing a National Authority in the Foreign 
Relations section of the Ministry of Agriculture, and that 
he had discussed this with the Minister of Environment.  He 
added that the Minister of Environment agreed with the MinAg 
proposal to set up this Authority that would be a focal 
point for legislation and establishing regulations for food 
and agricultural products.  The Minister welcomed the idea 
of the USDA team coming to Egypt and asked that we 
coordinate this team's visit with the Under Secretary of 
Foreign Relations at MinAg, and the Director of the 
Agricultural Genetic Engineering Institute. 
 
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USG-GOE Cooperation on Surveillance for AI in Egypt 
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10.  The Ambassador told the Minister that the USG considers 
AI a serious threat facing the international community and 
offered assistance to the GOE in their efforts to expand 
surveillance of the domestic poultry industry.  The Egyptian 
Under Secretary for Livestock production, who was present in 
the meeting, responded that AgCounselor Chaudhry had 
facilitated contacts between MinAg researchers and the U.S. 
Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU).  In addition, the 
Ministry has drafted a detailed proposal to develop a joint 
project with the USG to improve the Ministry's capacity to 
conduct testing and surveillance of the domestic poultry 
flock.  The proposal will be forwarded to the AgCounselor to 
coordinate a USG response. 
 
RICCIARDONE