September 23, 2022

Philippines lifts temporary ban of poultry products from Hungary

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture has lifted the temporary ban of imported poultry products from Hungary, following evidence provided by Hungary that it had contained its bird flu outbreak, Malaya Business Insight reported.

The issuance specifically permitted the importation of domestic and wild birds, as well as their products from Hungary, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen. However, imports are still subject to the Department of Agriculture's current importation regulations.

Following widespread outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in Hungary in December of last year, the Philippines imposed a ban on the importation of poultry products.

The Philippines imported 244.8 million kg of chicken meat from January to August 2022, down by 6% from the 260.31 million kg recorded during the same period in 2021, based on data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

The BAI data also revealed that the Philippines did not import any meat from Hungary for the entire year of 2021 or the first eight months of 2022.

After being deemed free of the disease the previous year, the Department of Agriculture reported in February of last year that a new strain of the bird flu virus had been found in the country

According to Philippines' Department of Agriculture's observation of 13 open markets as of yesterday, the going retail price for whole dressed chicken is PHP 190 (~US$3.24; PHP 10 = US$0.17) per kg.

-      Malaya Business Insight