March 27, 2023

Philippines bans imports of Brazilian cattle and meat

The Philippines' government has announced a temporary ban on imports of cattle and meat products from Brazil, to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in the Philippines, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

The memorandum order issued by the Philippines' Department of Agriculture covers imports of live cattle, meat and meat products, bovine processed animal proteins and semen derived from cattle from Brazil.

The ban is effective immediately.

The order said that because of BSE's presumed connection to the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans, recent cases of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) have been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health in Brazil.

Jesus Cham, president of the Philippines' Meat Importers and Traders Association, said that the ban was based on a single case of BSE, so the organisation hoped that it would be lifted soon.

Cham said they are seeing price pressure from pork, and any decrease in the supply of other meat will most likely add to overall inflation. He said the disruption is unwelcome and adds unnecessary strain to the supply chain.

Brazil was the second biggest source of beef for the Philippines as of February 2023.

-      Philippine Daily Inquirer