July 19, 2024

Philippines bans poultry imports from Minnesota, US, amid bird flu outbreak

The Philippines, through its Department of Agriculture (DA), has announced a ban on the importation of poultry and poultry by-products from the state of Minnesota, US, due to a recent outbreak of bird flu, GMA News reported.

 

The DA stated that Philippines' Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr issued Memorandum Order No 29. This order directs the immediate ban on the entry of domestic and wild birds, as well as their by-products from Minnesota, following the state's report of confirmed High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 cases.

 

The import ban includes domestic and wild birds and their products, such as poultry meat, eggs, day-old chicks, and semen.

 

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) submitted an official report to the DA, which confirmed H5N1 infections in three counties in Minnesota as of June 12, 2024.

 

The Agriculture Department noted that, based on a 2016 agreement between the Philippines and the US, a statewide ban may be imposed by the DA if at least three counties are affected by HPAI.

 

Additionally, the USDA-APHIS has reported the HPAI cases to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). HPAI is a notifiable disease with zoonotic potential, meaning it could be transmitted to humans.

 

Following USDA's report, Tiu Laurel ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to immediately suspend the processing, evaluation of applications, and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances (SPSIC) for those agricultural products.

 

Shipments from Minnesota that are already in transit, loaded, or accepted into port before the imposition of the ban will be allowed, provided that the products were slaughtered or produced 14 days before the first outbreak from the place of origin.

 

The DA stated that shipments not complying with the conditions set in the import ban may either be returned to the port of origin or condemned.

 

In March of this year, the DA had lifted an earlier import ban on Minnesota, which was imposed due to a previous avian influenza outbreak.

 

In 2023, the Philippines imported 166,356 metric tonnes of poultry products worth US$175.8 million from the US, making it the second-largest supplier of poultry meat imports, accounting for 39% of the country's overseas purchases.

 

-      GMA News