Brazil to restart poultry exports as Ministry declares country avian flu free

The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, or MAPA, announced June 18 that Brazil was free from bird flu following an official notification to the World Organization for Animal Health, allowing poultry suppliers in the country to return to international markets.

The declaration marked an end to the sanitary void that began on May 22 following the disinfection of a farm in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, where the only outbreak of the disease in Brazil was recorded.

With the conclusion of the sanitary void period and the absence of new flu occurrences, Brazil has regained its sanitary status, which is crucial for local producers to reenter international markets. Carlos Goulart, the Secretary of Animal Defense at MAPA, emphasized the importance of this self-declaration, which strengthens the credibility of Brazil's sanitary system and facilitates the resumption of exports.

Self-declaration is a definitive step toward accelerating negotiations and reinstating Brazilian exports, especially at a time when many countries are facing sanitary issues in production, Ricardo Santin, president of the Brazilian Animal Protein Association, or ABPA, said.

South Africa announced it would partially lift the embargo on imports of Brazilian poultry products from June 19, limiting the restriction to the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

South Africa imported 133,349 mt from Brazil between January-May, accounting for 8% of Brazil's total chicken exports during the period, according to data from Brazil's Foreign Trade Secretariat, or Secex, published June 6.

Approximately 62% of these imports consisted of Mechanically Separated Meat, a product with few alternative destinations for Brazil, according to sources.

"There are very few export alternatives for chicken feet and paws and MSM," one source said. "The option was to send it to the pet food industry."

However, Japan, the largest importer of Brazil's boneless chicken legs, on June 18 set a temporary embargo on products from two Brazilian municipalities: Santo Antônio da Barra in the state of Goias and Campinápolis in the state of Mato Grosso. The embargo included fertile eggs and day-old chicks from both states as well.

This decision was made following the confirmation of avian influenza cases in subsistence birds in the two locations.

Sources said the impact from Japan's ban would be minimal on Brazilian export volumes and values, as the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso together account for only 9% of all exports to Japan, according to Secex data.

"When considering the total exports from [each] entire state, it is very little compared to Paraná and Santa Catarina," the same source said. "The municipalities themselves have even less representation. Not to mention that these flows can be rearranged so that other plants in different states can start sending products to Japan to compensate for those that are under embargo."