February 6, 2007

 

Philippines to increase chicken exports

 

 

The Philippines is now in a strong position to increase its exports of poultry following the outbreak of bird flu in Indonesia, Japan and the United Kingdom.

 

The Philippines, along with Singapore and Brunei, continue to remain free from the feared bird flu virus in Southeast Asia.

 

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told the Philippine Star daily the country is ready to compete in supplying chicken and other poultry products to its neighbouring countries.

 

The Department of Agriculture (DA) had imposed a ban on the importation of live birds along with poultry and its products from Japan following official reports on the presence of the avian influenza (AI) or bird flu virus in that country.

 

Yap said the ban was necessary to protect human health and the poultry industry in the Philippines.

 

The ban, which took effect last month, was based on a Jan 13 report submitted by the Japanese government to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) or Animal Health Organization attesting to the presence of a highly pathogenic strain of the AI virus in Japan.

 

Yap said there is a big possibility that travellers may bring in pet birds, poultry and poultry products from Japan. The secretary ordered local agriculture offices to quarantine and confiscate Japanese poultry and its by-products entering the country's airports and seaports.

 

Yap has also ordered the immediate suspension of the issuance of veterinary quarantine clearances (VQCs) to all imports covering these products from Japan.

 

On Nov 27 last year, Yap issued a similar ban on all live bird and poultry imports from South Korea after the presence of the bird flu virus was detected in that country.

 

The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus re-occurred in Asia in 2003, but the Philippines has remained free of the dreaded virus.