Philippines imposes temporary ban on importing eggs, poultry products from Minnesota
The Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday it is imposing a temporary ban on importing eggs and poultry products from Minnesota, USA while the same restriction was lifted for the Czech Republic.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds, including their products, including poultry meat, eggs, day-old chicks and semen from the State of Minnesota was issued due to an ongoing outbreak of the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 subtype or commonly known as Bird Flu.
Laurel ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to immediately suspend the processing, evaluation of applications, and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary import Clearances (SPSIC) for the affected agricultural products.
Meantime, shipments from the State of Minnesota, USA that are already in transit, loaded or accepted unto port before the imposition of ban “shall be allowed provided that the products were slaughtered/produced 14 days before the first outbreak” from the place of origin.
The DA noted that shipments that don’t comply with the conditions set in the import ban may either be returned to the port of origin or condemned.
Laurel issued the order on the import ban based on the official report from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
The USDA - APHIS report has confirmed cases of H5N1 infections in three counties in the State of Minnesota as of June 12.
"Based on a 2016 agreement between the Philippines and the U.S., a statewide ban may be imposed by the Philippines- Department of Agriculture if there are at least three counties affected by HPAI," said DA.
"The USDA-APHIS has reported the HPAI cases to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). HPAI is a notifiable disease with zoonotic potential, which means it could be passed on to humans," it added.
Just last March of this year, the DA lifted the import ban on the State of Minnesota, USA, which was earlier imposed due to an avian influenza outbreak.
"In 2023, the Philippines imported 166,356 MT of poultry products worth $175.8 million from the United States, which is the second-largest supplier of PH poultry meat imports accounting for 39 percent of overseas purchases," it stated.
The Department of Agriculture also ordered the lifting of an importation ban on wild and domestic birds and their by-products from the Czech Republic.
The import ban that was imposed since March was lifted following the declaration that the European country has resolved the avian influenza outbreak.
Laurel said in a recent report by the Czech Republic to the World Organization for Animal Health, all the bird flu infections in their country have been resolved and no additional outbreak has been reported since May 8.
“With all the technical information and documents submitted by their veterinary authorities, the DA is lifting the suspension imposed on the Czech Republic thus any trade from this country may commence again,” he said. Robina Asido/DMS
