March 19, 2026

Philippines suspends poultry from Argentina following bird flu outbreak

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned domestic and wild birds and their products from Argentina, following an outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, in that country.

The order was signed last week by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. through Department Circular 13, series of 2026. It was prompted by a report from Argentina's veterinary authorities to the World Organization for Animal Health about an outbreak of bird flu affecting domestic birds in General Paz, Buenos Aires, on February 19.

The DA's import restrictions include poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen.

The order also calls for an immediate suspension of the processing and evaluation of applications and the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) for the commodities. All approved SPSICs for live domestic and wild birds are likewise automatically revoked.

However, exempted from the ban are all shipments from Argentina in transit, loaded, or accepted in ports before the order's effectivity, provided the products were slaughtered or produced on or before February 5.

Shipments that fail to comply with the terms will be dealt with under Article XI, Section 65 of DA's Department Circular 14, series of 2025: Violating shipments may be disposed of through confiscation or seizure and destruction, return to the country of origin, shipping to a third country, or donation.

Veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors are also directed to stop and confiscate all shipments of the prohibited commodities at all major ports of entry.

The order takes effect 15 days after publication on the DA's website and filing of copies with the Office of the National Administrative Register at the University of the Philippines Law Center in Diliman, Quezon City.

- The Manila Times