The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) reviewed the certification for exports of poultry meat and its products, after the confirmation of an outbreak of Newcastle Disease (DNC) in a commercial poultry production establishment, in the municipality of Anta Gorda, in Rio Grande do Sul, this Friday (19). The restriction varies according to the markets, but affects sales to 44 countries.
Export certification is a bilateral agreement between partner countries and, therefore, the ministry preventively modified the International Health Certificate (CSI) in order to meet the agreed guarantees and requirements.
“In accordance with international rules on trade in poultry and poultry products, the suspension of temporary certification is carried out by Brazil in order to guarantee the transparency of the Brazilian official service in relation to the countries that import the products. Thus, the suspensions are related to the area or region where certification is prevented, which ranges from suspension for at least 21 days for the entire national territory or even a restriction limited to a radius of 50 kilometers (km) from the identified outbreak,” the ministry explained.
National suspension
According to the government, for countries such as China, Argentina, Peru and Mexico, the suspension applies to all of Brazil, for now. In this case, the products with restrictions are poultry meat, fresh poultry meat and its derivatives, eggs, meat for animal feed, raw poultry material for ophthalmic purposes, meat preparations and untreated blood products.
State suspension
From the state of Rio Grande do Sul, exports to South Africa, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, Philippines, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Myanmar, Montenegro, Paraguay, French Polynesia, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, Ukraine, European Union, Eurasian Economic Union, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Vietnam are restricted.
Products include fresh, chilled or frozen poultry meat; eggs and egg products; meat, meat products and poultry offal; poultry, swine and ruminant meal; heads and feet; poultry fats; cooked, cured and salted sausages; processed and thermo-processed meat products; and raw materials and products for animal feed.
Regional suspension
Within a radius of 50 km from the outbreak, poultry meat, poultry meal, feathers and fish for use in animal feed, as well as cooked, thermally processed, inedible meat products derived from poultry, cannot be exported to Canada, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Morocco, Mauritius, Namibia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, East Timor. Certificates for these destinations with a production date up to July 8 are not included in the restrictions and may be issued, the ministry said.
No restrictions
According to the MAPA statement, products subjected to heat treatment such as thermo-processed, cooked and processed products destined for Argentina, South Africa, Chile, the European Union and Uruguay do not have any limitations and may be normally certified.
The ministry reported that “the suspension rules are reviewed daily, taking into account the ongoing negotiations with partner countries, in which all the actions that are being carried out to eradicate the outbreak are presented.”
Export
Rio Grande do Sul is the third largest exporter of chicken meat in Brazil, behind Paraná and Santa Catarina. In the first six months of the year, the state sold 354 thousand tons abroad, generating revenue of US$ 630 million. These exports represented 13.82% of the US$ 4.55 billion generated by the country and 14.1% of the 2.52 million tons exported by Brazil in the same period.
In the first half of the year, the main destinations for chicken meat from Rio Grande do Sul were the United Arab Emirates (48 thousand tons/US$ 94 million), Saudi Arabia (39 thousand tons/US$ 77 million), China (32 thousand tons/US$ 52 million) and Japan (20 thousand tons/US$ 43 million).