August 16, 2023

Philippines suspends entry of poultry products from Netherlands

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) temporarily banned the entry of poultry products from the Netherlands, which reported an avian influenza outbreak.

In a memorandum order, the DA prohibited the import of Dutch wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen, with immediate effect.

"There is a need to prevent the entry of HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) virus to protect the health of the local poultry population," the order said.

The agency suspended the processing, evaluation and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance. It will only accept shipments from the Netherlands that were in transit, loaded or accepted by the port before the official communication of such order to the Dutch authorities, provided the products had been slaughtered or produced on or before July 9.

The temporary ban on poultry from the Netherlands was implemented as Dutch officials reported to the World Organization for Animal Health on July 24 that there was an outbreak of H5N1 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza in Biddinghuizen, Dronten.

In the first six months of 2023, the Netherlands exported 31.3 million kilogrammes of meat imports to the Philippines, according to data from the Bureau of Animal Industry. This is equivalent to 5.3% of the 590.8 million kilogrammes of imported meat that had arrived in the country in the period.

- Inquirer.Net