August 8, 2007

Philippines bans UK meat imports on FMD outbreak
 

The Philippines has imposed an import ban on meat and meat products from United Kingdom following a UK veterinary office report last week of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Surrey, the agriculture department said Wednesday (Aug 8).

While the Philippines imported meat and meat products from the UK, import data was not immediately available.

The Philippine agriculture department is currently intensifying its hog vaccination campaign in regions prone to foot-and-mouth disease, and aims to apply for certification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as a foot-and-mouth disease-free country in January 2008.

OIE is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide, and is recognised as a reference organisation by the World Trade Organization.

Hence, OIE certification as a foot-and-mouth disease-free country will help boost Philippine meat and meat product exports.

So far, only the main island of Luzon has not been officially declared as foot-and-mouth disease-free. The rest of the country is free from the disease.