Delegates traveled from across Turkey, the Middle East and Africa for the 19^th annual Ross® Middle East and Africa Association (RMEAA) meeting in Dublin, Ireland, during March 17-20. Nearly half of the 26 attendees were Ross Turkey, Middle East and Africa (TMEA) distributors.

“Our Ross TMEA distributors are an extension of Aviagen and are the key to the current success of the breed in the region,” explained Bulent Tanyildizi, International Commercial Manager, Ross MEA. “The RMEAA meeting is a very important forum for us, where we gather with our distributors and plan the future of our business with an open mind. Our goal is to inform them of the latest advancements in the Aviagen Research and Development program and in the global poultry industry, as well as develop common commercial strategies to maintain and reinforce the Ross breed’s leadership in the region. Our 19^th meeting was another success story, with great contributions from each distributor. The synergy and spirit throughout the meeting were extraordinary.”

Joining the group were Aviagen executives including Tom Exley, President of TMEA; Michael Garden, Business Manager, TMEA; Aviagen veterinary, genetics and management experts; and specialists from the wider poultry industry.

Each year the association meets to discuss poultry meat markets both in the MEA and on a global scale, and more importantly, to explore ideas, experiences and challenges and look to express the value of the Ross brand.

Organised by the Ross TMEA team, the meeting was joined by colleagues from Aviagen UK Ltd., who covered business operations in the UK. The UK team also shared the latest update on Ross genetics and conversed with the group on the topic of antibiotic reduction in poultry.

Security of supply and other EMEA-focused topics

Discussions important to the region centred on getting maximum value from the Ross brand for TMEA producers, as well as a topic that is critical to the poultry export business – global security of supply. Aviagen Veterinarian Pavel Shkarlat presented the Great Britain (GB Enhanced Standard) compartmentalization program as an effective strategy to safeguard poultry trade during a notifiable avian disease outbreak in the supplying country.

This conversation held particular importance, as RMEAA distributors play a crucial role in convincing their local governments to accept and implement compartmentalisation from approved “compartments,” which are one or more establishments under a common biosecurity management system containing an animal subpopulation with a distinct health status with respect to a specific disease or specific diseases for which required surveillance, control and biosecurity measures have been applied for the purpose of international trade.

So far, Aviagen has achieved compartment status for operations in the UK, US and India, and has successfully shipped day-old chicks during an outbreak of avian influenza in the UK.

For more information on compartmentalisation, please click here

RMEAA Members voice reactions to 2019 event

Gary Arnold, Managing Director of Agriculture for Astral Foods, is an RMEAA member who took part in the event. “The 2019 meeting once again demonstrated Aviagen’s commitment to delivering the best poultry genetics through the Ross brand. Their drive toward continued improvement is evident in the regional and global performance of the product, supported by a significant investment in the breeding programs and research and development. Astral Foods values the very important strategic alliance with Aviagen and we look forward to even greater achievements to the benefit of all stakeholders. Thank you to Aviagen for a well-organised event, the very informative presentations, professional speakers and most of all, the networking opportunities with producers in the region,” he commented.

Puzant Dakessian, Head of Poultry, Wadi Group, added “In line with the ongoing commitment to keep their business associates updated on genetic progress and global poultry developments, Aviagen invited us to Dublin to share the latest updates and to hear our voices and future concerns. The presentations were carefully selected to cover a wide range of interesting and timely topics, including real-time market studies and the importance of the Ross brand, as well as talks from global poultry players who shared their knowledge with us. We thank Aviagen again for their promise in always delivering the best value, not only in genetics, but also in after-sales, support and knowledge.”