Lithuania can now apply for permission to export heat-treated poultry products to the US, Lithuania’s State Food and Veterinary Service said on Friday, adding, however, that the process may take a long time.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service confirmed in early August that a formal procedure for obtaining an export permit could be launched, the SFVS said.
“We waited for the US approval for more than ten months. I am pleased that Lithuanian producers now have even more opportunities available. We just need to be prepared as it will be a long process,” Audronė Mikalauskiene, the SFVS head, warned.
In order to export Lithuanian poultry meat to the US, the Lithuanian authority will have to prove that the control of poultry meat products complies with US requirements.
“The approval of meat products for exports to the US took more than eight years. We will not avoid that this time either,” Mikalauskiene said.
Lithuanian producers can now export some dairy, fish and egg products, as well as beef products to the US.
Data from the SFVS shows that Lithuanian poultry producers exported 7,570 tons of products in the first half of this year after exporting 8,760 tons in 2023. The main export destinations are Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, the United Kingdom, French Polynesia, Japan, Albania and other countries.