Saudi Arabia lifts poultry import ban on Turkey

Saudi Arabia has lifted a poultry import ban on Turkey that has been in place since a bird flu epidemic in 2005, according to reports. The ban was lifted after a delegation of Saudi inspectors returned from Turkey with a positive report on the country's poultry industry. They inspected the production facilities of a number of leading Turkish companies in April 2011, but the necessary procedures for the ban's removal took the remainder of 2011. Overall trade between Saudi Arabia and Turkey is expected to reach $6 billion in 2012.