Philippines bans poultry imports from Japan

The Philippines temporarily bans imports of poultry products and birds from Japan. (Photo: cnnphilippines.com)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on the importation of poultry and poultry products from Japan due to an outbreak of bird flu there, the Philippine Department of Agriculture said on January 18.

The department said Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel signed the order on January 17 to immediately suspend the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for the inward shipment of wild birds, poultry and poultry products from Japan.

Accordingly, only wild birds, poultry, and poultry products imported from Japan that are already in transit, loaded, and accepted on or before November 10, 2023, will be allowed entry to the Philippines. Shipments after November 10, 2023, will either be returned to Japan, or confiscated and destroyed.

The Japanese authorities detected an outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 virus strain in Kashima City, Saga prefecture, on November 24 last year. Japan reported the outbreak to the World Organization for Animal Health on November 28.

The Philippines has imposed similar bans on imports from California and Ohio in the US due to bird flu outbreaks.

Bird flu is carried by migrating wild birds and can then be transmitted between farms. It has ravaged flocks around the world in recent years, disrupting supply and pushing up food prices./.