August 8, 2006

 

China's poultry puts Philippines at risk of bird flu 

 

The Philippines is at greater risk of contracting bird flu due to smuggling of poultry imports from China, which is currently battling the disease, an industry executive said Tuesday (Aug 8).

 

"We're not supposed to import anything from China because of bird flu cases there," Gregorio San Diego, president of the United Broilers Association of the Philippines, told reporters.

 

"But imported poultry products from China, mainly that of Peking duck, are openly sold in restaurants and retail stores, so we are at risk," San Diego said.

 

Since 2003, the Philippines has imposed a ban on poultry imports from many Asian countries including China to deter the entry of the bird flu, San Diego said.

 

The Philippines is one of the few remaining countries in Asia that have managed to stay free of the disease.

 

According to San Diego, the influx of chicken imports, in addition to smuggled poultry products, has damped demand for locally produced chicken due to a significant price advantage of imported products.

 

The imported chicken parts can be half the price of local chickens, San Diego said.

 

From January to May this year, chicken imports have increased around 93 percent on-year.

 

"We estimate that smuggling of poultry imports have also increased proportionately to that of chicken imports," he said.

 

Philippine chicken imports come from the US, Canada and Brazil.