Malaysia today criticised Japan and other countries for refusing to accept its poultry exports long after it was declared free of bird flu following an outbreak last year.

"Unfortunately, most of the importing countries that used to import poultry and poultry products from Malaysia are still hesitant to do so," Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told an international conference on the deadly virus.

Malaysia was hit by the disease in August 2004 in the northern state of Kelantan bordering Thailand, prompting the government to undertake a culling and disinfection exercise.

Countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines and also the European Union banned Malaysian poultry imports, causing farmers estimated daily losses of RM10 million.

The country declared itself free of bird flu in January, with the government saying no new cases had been recorded since Nov 22.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia also qualified to be declared free of the virus according to the Terrestrial Animal Health Code, an international guideline for trading animals, and that the country should be recognised for its efforts.

"Eradicating a disease is very costly, and should be rewarded appropriately, and I believe market access is a genuine form of reward," he said at the meeting of experts from United Nations health and animal agencies.

Maximum transparency

The minister said Japan was one of the countries reluctant to reintroduce Malaysian chicken imports, but did not give a complete list.

Neighbouring nations such as Singapore and Brunei had already accepted Malaysian poultry products, he said.

He said that Malaysia had made efforts to introduce maximum transparency in its handling of the avian flu outbreak and reassured countries and businesses that the country had nothing to hide.

"I think it's a question of confidence and that over time (countries) will understand how better Malaysia handles these situations," said Muhyiddin.