Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary FranciscoTiu Laurel assured the public of a stable and safe supply of chicken despite a ban on poultry imports from Brazil due to the bird flu, and after the DA contained an outbreak of the disease in Camarines Sur.
Tiu Laurel, in a briefing in Malacañang on Monday, said that while there could be a gap in the supply of chicken for one to two weeks due to the import ban, the country could still depend on imports from other countries, as well as on local poultry production.
“As far as supply is concerned, I really don’t see any issue. There may be a brief supply gap for one or two weeks, because they have to change origins. But in general, I don’t see any issue, because even our local poultry industry has good production,” he said.
Tiu Laurel said many of the country’s chicken imports, especially frozen products, had been coming from Brazil, before the import ban, because these were cheaper compared with imports from other countries.
He said the public should expect some spikes in prices in the next few weeks but he added that these would likely be minimal.
“But, of course, Brazil is not the only supplier of the Philippines. There are many other countries that supply the Philippines with frozen chicken. So, the market would just be diverted,” Laurel said.
“We may be able to buy … the importers or processors may buy the chicken at a slightly higher price, but I think the price difference is a few percentage only),” he added.
The Philippines usually imposes a temporary import ban on countries with confirmed bird flu outbreaks to protect domestic poultry populations from the disease.
During normal periods, Brazil supplied about 60 percent of the mechanically deboned meat in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has also assured the public that poultry products, including chicken meat and table eggs, remain safe for human consumption despite the reported cases of Avian Influenza (AI) in Camarines Sur.
The agency reiterated in a statement on Monday that the outbreak of the disease in Camaligan, Camarines Sur, has been contained and fully resolved.
“Following the detection of the case, the affected premises were immediately placed under quarantine. Depopulation, proper disposal and disinfection measures were swiftly implemented in accordance with national animal health protocols. With the completion of culling and disposal, as well as thorough cleaning and disinfection, surveillance activities were conducted within the 1-kilometer radius on May 9, 2025,” BAI said in the statement.
The agency added that all collected samples tested negative for AI type A, which confirmed that the outbreak has been contained and resolved.
However, as of May 19, the DA decided to continue the ban on the slaughter, sale and consumption of sick or suspected-to-be infected animals, until further notice, to uphold food safety standards.
“Only animals that have passed veterinary inspection and are certified healthy are cleared for market distribution. The public is also reminded to buy meat with accompanying meat inspection certificate and proper handling and thorough cooking of poultry products to ensure food safety,” the DA BAI said in a statement on May 19.
Earlier this month, the DA, through the BAI, confirmed the detection of the country’s first case of AI Type A Subtype H5N9 in Camaligan, Camarines Sur, after getting positive results from duck samples.
Prior to this discovery, Camarines Sur was declared bird flu-free on June 30, 2022 after previously being affected by the HPAI H5N1 strain.
Latest data available from the BAI, dated May 16, 2025, show that five regions have remained affected by Avian Influenza, specifically nine provinces, 53 cities/municipalities and 138 barangays. Just like Camarines Sur, the DA has contained and resolved outbreaks of bird flu in almost all of these areas but they remain under strict monitoring, and are required by the DA BAI to follow safety precautions, observe partial prohibitions and undergo regular veterinary checks just like in Camarines Sur, to be able to sell their safe produce. The DA BAI said that as of May 19, only a duck farm in Mexico, Pampanga, has remained under quarantine and treatment, and could not sell any produce.
