Vietnam’s deputy prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to lift the ban on imports of processed poultry products, according to local reports. The government is also considering lifting the ban on live poultry imports from countries free of avian influenza.


Dung has also requested the Ministry of Finance to work with MARD to formulate a policy that will encourage poultry breeders and processors to change concentrated breeding and slaughtering techniques, the Vietnamese press reported today (5 January).


The deputy prime minister urged the Ministry of Health, who are currently organising bird flu prevention measures, to work with the Ministry of Science and Technology to produce a bird flu vaccine and respiratory machines.