Manila has lifted the temporary ban it slapped on imported live poultry, poultry products and by-products, including day-old chicks, from California.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued Memorandum Order (MO) 34 last May 5 which authorized the lifting of the import ban.
“Based on the official report of US [United States] Veterinary Authorities in the World Organisation Animal Health [WOAH], two out of three counties of California [San Diego and Merced] reported the closure of High Pathogenic Avian Influenza [HPAI] cases has ended with resolved status and no additional outbreaks after, last 10 April 2023,” MO 34 read.
“As a country recognized with HPAI regionalization arrangement with the Philippines, state-wide trade restrictions shall only be imposed if there are three [3] or more counties affected by HPAI.”
The memorandum order took effect immediately.
The DA issued in November 2022 MO 71 which temporarily banned the importation of live poultry and poultry products from California. The ban was imposed after Manila confirmed the outbreak of bird flu in California.
“[T]he rapid spread of H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza in the United States of America [USA] in a short period of time since its first laboratory detection necessitates a wider coverage of trade restriction to prevent the entry of HPAI virus and protect the health of the local poultry population,” MO 71 read.
Following the issuance of MO 71, Manila suspended the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance to imported poultry products from California.
The US is one of the Philippines’s top sources of imported poultry products.
Last year, the Philippines imported a record volume of 1.356 billion kilograms of meat products as the government resorted to foreign supplies to temper price increases amid domestic production and supply concerns.
Data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed that total meat imports in 2022 was 191 million kilograms higher than the 1.165 billion kilograms recorded in 2021.
BAI data indicated that the increase in overall meat imports was driven by the 28.06-percent growth in pork imports which reached 710.362 million kilograms.
The country’s chicken meat imports last year slightly increased by 1.57 percent to 411.069 million kilograms from 404.711 million kilograms in 2021.
BAI data showed that mechanically deboned meat (MDM) accounted for more than half of the total chicken meat imports last year. The country’s imports of chicken MDM, a vital raw ingredient used by meat processors to manufacture processed goods like hotdogs, rose by 2.74 percent year-on-year to 243.219 million kilograms.
The Philippines imported 102.686 million kilograms of chicken leg quarters last year and 51.717 million kilograms of chicken cuts.
Brazil was the country’s top supplier of chicken meat products at 235.256 million kilograms followed by the United States at 122.931 million kilograms.
PHL lifts temporary ban on live birds, poultry from California
Source: News Paper Radio
0 Comments