Brazil has suspended exports of meat and poultry products to 44 countries as a precaution, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock announced.
The measure was motivated by the confirmation of an outbreak of Newcastle disease in a poultry production facility in the municipality of Anta Gorda, explained the ministerial statement that was picked up by the agency Russian Sputnik.
After confirmation of a outbreak in Newcastle, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Map) preventively suspends the export of poultry meat and its products. #AgoraCNN pic.twitter.com/pahenM1f8n
— CNN Brazil (@CNNBrasil) July 20, 2024
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) causes a fatal infection in many types of birds. In humans, it causes mild flu-like symptoms, conjunctivitis and laryngitis.
“Following international regulations on trade in poultry and poultry products, the suspension of the temporary certification is carried out by Brazil in order to ensure the transparency of the Brazilian official service vis-à-vis the countries importing the products,” the Brazilian entity added in a statement.
Products subject to restrictions include poultry meat, fresh poultry meat and its derivatives, eggs and meat for animal feed.
Also included in the list are raw materials from poultry for opotherapeutic purposes (animal organs for pharmacological use), meat preparations and untreated blood products.
The suspensions are related to the Brazilian zone or region with certification impediments, and range from a restriction limited to a radius of 50 kilometers from the identified outbreak to a restriction of at least 21 days for the entire national territory.
For countries such as China, Argentina, Peru and Mexico, the suspension currently applies to all Brazilian productions.
For the state of Rio Grande do Sul, exports are restricted to South Africa, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Chile and Cuba, among a total of thirty countries and regions.
Within a 50-kilometre radius of the outbreak, poultry meat, poultry meal, feathers and fish intended for animal feed, and cooked, thermally processed and inedible meat products derived from poultry cannot be exported to countries such as Canada, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Morocco, Mauritius, Namibia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and East Timor.
The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul is the third largest Brazilian exporter of chicken meat, behind Paraná and Santa Catarina. In the first six months of 2024, the territory exported 354 thousand tons, generating revenues of 630 million dollars, according to the dispatch of Sputnik.
Brazil began exporting poultry meat in 1975, with shipments to the Middle East of only 3,600 tons. Last year, exports in this area exceeded 4 million tons, with shipments of products to more than 160 countries around the world.
Currently, Brazil is the largest exporter of chicken in the world and the second largest producer of this meat, according to the portal AviNews.com.
