December 21, 2010

 

Canada's Manitoba chicken exports cut by half on import bans

 

 

Canada's Manitoba chicken exports have been reduced by roughly 50% as a result of import bans in the Philippines and Taiwan.

 

Both nations are on the list of countries that have closed their border to poultry products from Manitoba as a result of the discovery of H5N2 avian influenza in a turkey-breeding operation in the RM of Rockwood.

 

"Every eight week cycle, we grow about 5% of our production for export. So that would be approximately 300 to 340 thousand kilogrammes eviscerated, and approximately half of that would go to countries that have banned poultry products from Manitoba," explains Wayne Hiltz, general manager of the Manitoba Chicken Producers.

 

"The ones that affect Manitoba's chicken market are Taiwan and the Philippines," he said.

 

Processors have notified producers that their monthly slaughter-for-export requirements for January and February have been reduced by around 50%.

 

"Basically, all of February has been eliminated for export growth and so that will create an affect on producers in that they were planning on growing some of that product and now it's not required," Hiltz said, noting this will create a backlog of chicken.

 

"Once a chick is in the barn or the hatching egg is in the incubator, the process has already started to grow that kilo of chicken. So we do have kilogrammes of chicken that either have been grown, or are in the process of being grown for exports destined for those countries. That's having an effect on our processors because now they have to find other markets or sell that product frozen into Canada."

 

"We'll have to make further evaluations for chicken that was to be grown for export in March and April at a later date," Hiltz said.

 

He said they are optimistic that the import bans will be lifted by early May 2011.

 

"Removing the ban is up to their government officials and their discussions with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. CFIA does not control what other countries do. Several countries have decided to follow the CFIA protocol and ban poultry products from within ten kilometres of the quarantined farms," he said.

 

"Other countries, however, are obviously not forced to follow those guidelines. In this case, the Philippines and Taiwan have made their own decision to ban products from all of Manitoba," he said. "We're optimistic that in countries that accept the CFIA protocol, we could see the bans lifted by May 1st."