Jordan, Kuwait relax embargoes on Brazilian chicken exports

Jordan and Kuwait have both relaxed their embargoes on Brazil's chicken meat exports by narrowing them to bird flu-hit Rio Grande do Sul state, according to Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply.

While the two countries represent only 3.54% of Brazil's chicken meat exports, the development is being seen as an important step for the country's poultry sector as it recovers from bird flu outbreaks. Larger export markets, including the EU and Mexico, remain closed to Brazilian supplies.

The Jordan and Kuwait decisions resulted from an official MAPA mission to North Africa from May 26 to June 1. Marcel Moreira, deputy secretary of commerce and foreign relations, led the mission to Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan and Kuwait, accompanied by Ângela Peres, the ministry's director of trade promotion.

The main objective of the trip was to strengthen Brazil's bilateral cooperation with the countries, according to the official minutes.

Following the presentation of measures taken by Brazilian authorities to control the outbreak of HPAI, Jordan decided to reduce the embargo, limiting it to the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Local authorities are reviewing a proposal to restrict the embargo further to a radius of 10 km from the property where the virus was identified.

Kuwait also relaxed its restrictions on Brazilian exports, now applying the embargo only at the state level.

Kuwait imposed a countrywide embargo May 16, followed by Jordan on May 28.

Jordan imported about 30,000 mt of Brazilian chicken from January to April, with boneless breast accounting for 44%, according to data from the Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretariat, or SECEX. During the same period, Kuwait imported nearly 34,000 mt, of which 16% was boneless breast meat.

An industry source emphasized the importance of these relaxations, especially in markets that consume breast meat, as major importers still have bans in place.

The MAPA monitoring report, available on its official website, indicates that as of June 3, there are six cases of HPAI under investigation, none of which are in commercial farms. The only suspected case in a commercial farm in Anta Gorda, Rio Grande do Sul, where a Newcastle disease outbreak was identified in July 2024, has been ruled negative.

The ministry said that if no new cases are identified in commercial farms by June 19 -- the end of a 28-day period since the start of the mandatory sanitary void -- Brazil may then declare itself free of contamination by HPAI.