DA halts poultry importation from 4 US states
INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has halted the importation of poultry from four American states to prevent the spread of bird flu in the Philippines.
The DA ordered the import ban via Memorandum Order No. 11 covering domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
It promulgated the memo as the United States reported several outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza on Feb. 3 this year affecting domestic birds.
READ: DA bans poultry from Maryland, Missouri due to bird flu
The agency imposed the ban to prevent the entry of avian influenza “and protect the health of the local poultry population,” according to the directive signed by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Feb. 18.
It immediately suspended the processing, evaluation and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for the commodities mentioned above.
All veterinary quarantine officers/inspectors will stop and confiscate poultry deliveries from these American states at all major ports of entry.
However, the import restriction does not apply to shipments from four US states that were in transit, loaded or accepted unto port before the Philippine government transmitted the order to American authorities.
The ban excludes such commodities as long as the products were produced or slaughtered 14 days before the first reported outbreak. Illinois recorded its first outbreak on Nov. 14, 2024, followed by Minnesota on Nov. 26, 2024; Ohio on Dec. 13, 2024 and Wisconsin on Dec. 10, 2024.
Before this, the DA lifted the import ban on poultry products from Ohio in June last year and Minnesota last November.
Veterinary authorities of the US and the Philippines forged an agreement in 2016 stating a state-wide ban would only be imposed if there are three or more counties affected with avian influenza in one state.
“The above-mentioned state has three (3) or more counties affected with HPAI as reflected in their official reports in the WOAH (World Organization for Animal Health),” the memo said.
The US is one of the major suppliers of meat products to the Philippines, holding an export market share of 15.2 percent in the previous year.
Meat imports rose by 20.8 percent to 1.45 million metric tons (MT) in 2024 from 1.2 million MT a year ago, according to the data from the Bureau of Animal Industry.
