PH bans Dutch poultry due to bird flu outbreak

MANILA  -The Department of Agriculture (DA) temporarily banned the entry of poultry products from the Netherlands as the European country reported a bird flu or avian influenza outbreak.

In a memorandum order, the DA prohibited the importation of Dutch wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen effective immediately.

“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.

The Netherlands is one of the suppliers of meat products to the Philippines. In the first six months of 2023, the European country exported 31.3 million kilograms of meat imports to the country, according to data from the Bureau of Animal Industry. This is equivalent to 5.3 percent of the 590.8 million kg of imported meat that had arrived in the country during the period.

Broken down, the Netherlands exported 29.9 million kg of pork and 1.4 million kg of beef. It did not deliver chicken to the archipelago during the period.