THE Department of Agriculture (DA) reinstated the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds, including their products, from the state of Minnesota in the United States due to an ongoing outbreak of the high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 subtype or commonly known as bird flu.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. issued Memorandum Order 29 based on the official report submitted by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to the DA, which showed confirmed cases of H5N1 infections in three counties of Minnesota as of June 12.
Tiu Laurel said the import ban will cover domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, eggs, day-old chicks and semen.
The DA also ordered to Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to immediately suspend the processing, evaluation of applications and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSIC) for those agricultural products.
Shipments from Minnesota in transit, loaded or accepted unto port before the imposition of the ban, will be allowed provided the products were slaughtered or produced 14 days before the first outbreak at the place of origin.
Shipments that do not comply with the conditions set in the import ban may either be returned to the port of origin or condemned.
Last March, the DA lifted the import ban on Minnesota.
Last year, the Philippines imported 166,356 metric tons of poultry products worth $175.8 million from the US, which is the second-largest supplier of poultry meat imports of the Philippines accounting for 39 percent of purchases.
In a separate order, Tiu Laurel also lifted the import ban on wild and domestic birds and their by-products from the Czech Republic following a declaration the European country has resolved the avian influenza outbreak.
The DA first imposed a temporary ban on import of wild and domestic birds from the Czech Republic, including poultry meat, eggs, day-old chicks and semen last March.
According to a recent report by Czech Republic to the World Organization for Animal Health, all bird flu infections have been resolved and no additional outbreak has been reported since May 8.
Based on records, the country did not buy any imported meat products from the Czech Republic last year.
In another development, data from BAI showed the Philippines imported 128.29 million kilograms of meat in May, up by 4.9 percent from 122.31 million kg last year
Pork made up bulk of the imports at 60.4 million kg or 47.1 percent of all meat but the volume 7.8 percent lower compared to May 2023’s pork imports of 65.51 million kg.
Chicken followed with 46.77 million kg or 36.5 percent of all imported meat in May. Chicken imports for the period rose 13.2 percent as volumes for May 2023 only reached 41.33 million kg.
Beef imports stood at 17 million kg or 13.3 percent of all meat imports in the period. The volume is 55.4 percent higher than the 10.94 million kg of beef imports in May 2023.
The Philippines also imported 3.89 million kg of buffalo for the period, 11 percent lower than May 2023’s 4.36 million kg. Turkey imports stood at 163,894 kg.
Lamb imports amounted to 31,250 kg, a 79.7 percent decline from May 2023’s 153,564 kg while duck imports totaled 32,877 kg against May 2023’s 12,122 kg, an increase of 171.2 percent.
