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MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it has indefinitely banned the import of poultry and related products, including wild birds, following outbreaks of avian influenza in Belgium and France.
“The H5N1 virus is a virus that can be transmitted from infected animals to humans, so we are taking steps to protect the health of local poultry populations, poultry workers and consumers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said in a statement. We are doing this to.”
Avian influenza, which is carried by migratory birds and can be transmitted between farms, has ravaged bird flocks around the world in recent years, disrupting supplies, driving up food prices and raising concerns about the risk of human infection.
Bordering countries France and Belgium reported outbreaks of avian influenza in their bird populations to the World Organization for Animal Health in November and December, respectively.
The Philippine import ban will also prevent traders from bringing Belgian and French poultry products into the Philippines, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, hatching eggs and poultry semen, the USDA said.
In 2023, the Philippines imported 426,620 tons of poultry meat, an increase of 3.78% from the previous year, of which Belgium accounted for 0.59% and France accounted for 0.01%.
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(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)