PH halts poultry imports from Brazil amid bird flu outbreak

The Philippines will temporarily halt poultry imports from Brazil following the confirmation of its first bird flu outbreak in a commercial farm.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will implement a nationwide ban on imports from Brazil, a major global poultry supplier.

The outbreak in Brazil, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 7,400 breeders, has already led to import bans from countries like China, Mexico, Chile, and Uruguay.

This measure is a standard procedure for the Philippines to safeguard its domestic poultry population from the transboundary animal disease.

The government has recently revised its guidelines to allow for bilateral regionalization, aiming to impose import bans only on specific outbreak-affected areas rather than entire countries, thereby mitigating trade and food security impacts.