DA bans poultry imports from Argentina over bird flu outbreak

The Philippine Department of Agriculture has imposed a ban on the importation of poultry products from Argentina due to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1).

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed Memorandum Order No. 48, which halts the entry of poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen from Argentina.

The ban was enacted after the H5N1 subtype of bird flu was detected in the northern region of Buenos Aires on August 17 and officially reported to the World Organization for Animal Health on August 20.

Secretary Tiu Laurel emphasized that the H5N1 subtype presents a significant risk to both poultry and public health.

The directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. mandates the DA to safeguard both food security and public health.

The Bureau of Animal Industry has been instructed to immediately suspend all applications and issuances of import clearances for poultry commodities originating from Argentina.

This move aims to protect the country's multibillion-peso poultry sector, considering past culling measures have cost the domestic poultry sector hundreds of millions of pesos and led to job losses.

While Camarines Sur was recently declared avian flu-free, eight provinces across four regions remain under watch for the virus, underscoring the fragility of local poultry production.