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Honduras Continues Closure of
Border to Costa Rican Chickens
Costa Rican poultry producers
were expecting the Honduran
authorities to re-open its
borders to Costa Rican chicken
products on July 31, however,
the Central American nation
announced yesterday that is may
do so in two months time.
Dr. Yayo Vicente, general
director of the Salud Animal del
Ministerio de la Producción,
explained that Honduran
authorities don't have a good
excuse to exclude Tico poultry.
"The meat we export is safe for
human consumption and not like
they (the Hondurans) claim",
said Dr. Vicente.
The director added that the
Honduran decision, based on a
break out of laringotraquieitis
that killed 280 animals and 334
others sacrificied in 14 farms
in Guácimo, has nothing to do
with the poultry exported.
Vicente added that the case in
Guácimo was an isolated one and
that is isolated to "patio
chickens" - chickens locally
raised for eggs and meat to be
consumed by the family, rather
than chickens sold for export.
"Costa Rican authorities at
first told us that the break out
was isolated to two farms, then
in the end it was 14... what
that means to us is that Costa
Rica does not have effective
border controls. Our inspection
tells us different and will open
our borders in September if that
country is able to control the
laringotraquieitis", said the
Honduran Minister of
Agriculture, Héctor Hernández.
Honduras closed its borders to
Costa Rican chickens on June 20.
It is estimated that the Costa
Rican poultry industry has lost
more than one half million
dollars since the blockade.
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