Sixteen years of French beef ban may soon be over

October 15, 2014 | 10:00

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Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai recently requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to consider removing the ban on beef imports from France after the mad cow outbreak in 1998, according to newswire VnExpress.

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The import of beef from European countries was interrupted in 1998 after the World Health Organization proclaimed mad cow an epidemic in nine countries, including France. At the time, the MARD banned all beef products from these countries from entering Vietnam.

In 2001 the World Organisation for Animal Health acknowledged the successful control of mad cow disease in France. Currently the country exports its beef to the EU, Brazil, the US, New Zealand and ASEAN countries including Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Since 2011 France has proposed the MARD reopen the country to beef imports.

The deputy prime minister also asked the MARD to closely co-operate and instruct relevant authorities and French exporters to resolve any technical issues to facilitate trade between the two countries and comply with Vietnamese regulations on beef imports.

By By Minh Trang

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