Officials from the Dominican Republic say there is no avian influenza problem in the country and hope to convince the Haitian government to overturn its ban on Dominican poultry. Jose del Castillo, Dominican industry and commerce minister, said the country has complied with the ban and has been in communication with Haitian leaders to learn why it was enacted.
Haiti's Ministry of Commerce issued the ban on the import of Dominican meats, chicken, eggs and other goods during the first week of June, after five people died. However, Dominican leaders stated that the ban is unfounded and the deaths were caused by swine flu and not avian influenza.
"The reality is that the prohibition is in place, and the Dominican government is in the process of dialogue with Haitian authorities to see if the ban ceases as quickly as possible," he told Dominican Today.
Dominican government records show that it sells 25 million eggs and 8 million chickens a year to Haiti.
