April 3, 2006

Philippines remains hopeful poultry exports to Japan will resume

The Philippines, which has remained free of the bird flu virus, aims to resume poultry exports to Japan and open up new markets in Asia, Africa and Europe, a senior industry official said on Thursday (Mar 30).

Ruben Pascual, chairman of the Poultry Export Board, said firms had submitted documents to Japan to prove local poultry remained free of H5N1 strain of bird flu and hopes are high that poultry exports would resume soon.

The Philippines voluntarily stopped exports of poultry to Japan in the middle of last year after three ducks at a farm were infected with a weaker strain of bird flu.

Japan started buying directly from the Philippines in 2004 after outbreaks of bird flu in major poultry exporting countries. The country exported 5,000-6,000 tonnes of poultry to Japan from 2004 till July last year.

Pascual said Philippine poultry firms were also getting enquiries from other buyers in Asia like Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore. To quell any lingering doubts as to its safety, the government and local poultry firms are also inviting veterinarians from foreign buyers to look at the farms and processing facilities of exporters.

The Philippines is also seeking to export to Muslim countries in Asia and the Middle East by gaining certification that they used slaughtering methods approved under Islamic laws.