China has decided to suspend the export of poultry and related products by farmers from three bird flu-hit areas and halt fowl imports from eight bird flu-affected countries, the Ministry of Commerce said on its official Website.

The ministry issued an announcement on Wednesday jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture, General Administration of Customs and State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, prohibiting the export of poultry products from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Hunan and Hubei provinces.

Guangxi, which borders Vietnam, a country where at least 18 people have died of the virus, confirmed its first bird flu case on Tuesday. Suspected cases were reported in Hunan and Hubei provinces in central China on the same day.

According to the announcement, poultry imports were also banned from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Pakistan and Indonesia, where deadly bird flu cases have been reported.

The bans became effective on the same day when the Ministry of Commerce issued the announcement.

Meanwhile, Japan has banned the imports of chickens and ducks from China after the country confirmed its first case of bird flu, according to the Nihon Keizai newspaper, Bloomberg News reported yesterday.

China supplies about 7 percent of chicken consumed in Japan, the report said.

China is the third-biggest exporter of chicken to Japan after Thailand and Brazil, the newspaper said.

Shanghai Dajiang (Group) Stock Co Ltd, which exports over 80 percent of its chicken meat to Japan, said it was difficult to estimate how the bans will affect its business Thursday, the first normal work day after the Chinese New Year holidays.

"The peak season of chicken meat exports usually takes place prior to the Chinese Spring Festival which fell on January 22 this year, just before the bird flu spread widely in Asia," said an official surnamed Gu with the Shanghai-listed company.

Dajiang is one of China's largest chicken meat producers and processors.

It exported 15,000 tons of chicken meat last year with a turnover of about US$30 million.

Dajiang produced 24 million chickens last year which were processed into 45,000 tons of meat.

Shanghai Daying Modern Agriculture Co Ltd, one of the major local duck meat producers, was not available for comment.

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