The first consignment of eggs from India to Oman was despatched on 24 September, reports the The Hindu.

The ban was imposed in the last week of March following reports of bird flu in the northern States, Secretary of the Livestock and Agri Farmers Trade Association (LIFT), P.V. Senthil, who is also a poultry farmer and exporter, told The Hindu.

Poultry industry sources said that Namakkal accounted for nearly 95 per cent of the egg export from India, as eggs produced in this region had a competitive edge over the produce in other zones. The eggs had dark yellow yolk, delivery time was less due to easy accessibility to ports and the price was competitive.

This industry in the second largest egg production centre in India suffered a setback when there was a bird flu outbreak in north India earlier this year.

Oman banned the import of eggs from India on 27 March based on the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) norms following the bird flu outbreak in Orissa.

Oman accounts for 33 per cent of the total egg export from India. Egg exports, which stood at 55.734 million eggs in March, dropped to 41.564 million in April, a month after the ban was imposed by Oman.

It dropped to 24.088 million eggs in May and touched a 10-year-low monthly export of 8.974 million eggs in June.

The ban is lifted only three months after the OIE declared India free from bird flu.

Further Reading You can visit the Avian Flu page by clicking here.