Malaysia Narrows Newcastle Disease Import Ban to Santa Catarina

Malaysia has eased Newcastle disease restrictions on Brazilian poultry meat and poultry products. The country has decided to limit its import ban to the state of Santa Catarina, where four outbreaks of Newcastle disease have been identified since October 18. Previously, Malaysia had suspended imports from all of Brazil.

With Mexico also having regionalized its restrictions, Uruguay is now the only country maintaining a nationwide ban on Brazilian poultry imports. Export industry representatives and officials from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock have been holding talks with Uruguayan authorities in an effort to secure a similar decision. China, the sector’s largest customer, has restricted imports from companies in Santa Catarina since the first outbreak was confirmed.

Industry Sees Progress on Newcastle Disease Restrictions

Ricardo Santin, president of the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), told reporters that the regionalization of import restrictions by major trading partners represents a “milestone” for Brazil, resulting from coordinated efforts by the government and industry with importing countries. “There is confidence in Brazil’s system and in the industry that it can continue to be the world’s largest supplier of chicken meat. Today, only Uruguay remains [to recognize regionalization],” he said during a Globo Rural event in São Paulo.

Santin said Marcos Vinícius de Santana, director of animal health at the Ministry of Agriculture, had held talks with Uruguayan authorities during the 28th Conference of the Regional Commission for the Americas of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), held this week in Asunción, Paraguay.

According to Santin, Uruguay had informally indicated that it would also regionalize its restrictions if it received satisfactory responses to questions submitted to Brazil about the outbreak. “This is a major milestone because, in less than 30 days, Brazil will no longer face a nationwide ban from any country. Today, there is only one, demonstrating confidence in the industry and its companies,” he added.

Santin emphasized the importance of the work carried out by Brazil’s agricultural attachés in communicating information about the cases recorded so far. He maintained that Brazil “does not actually have Newcastle disease,” but that laboratory tests had detected traces of a pigeon virus in turkeys. He also noted that the birds at the affected facilities had shown no symptoms.

“This information needed to be conveyed directly to importers, and it was. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicated it very quickly, and we are seeing the results today,” he added.

Santin stressed that the regionalization of Newcastle disease restrictions on Brazilian poultry helped reduce losses resulting from the outbreaks in Santa Catarina. According to him, the outbreak recorded in Anta Gorda, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in 2024 led to a loss of 163,000 metric tons of production, equivalent to $300 million. This year, estimates so far point to losses of 21,000 metric tons, valued at $50 million.

In a statement, the Ministry of Agriculture said there had been “progress in talks with Uruguay on the recognition of animal health regionalization.” According to the ministry, updated technical information on efforts to control the outbreak had been submitted to Uruguayan authorities, and a response was still pending.

The ministry also reported that delegations attending the meeting in Paraguay, along with WOAH representatives, had praised Brazil’s response. “In their view, the case is a clear example of properly implemented zoning and regionalization, as well as trust between trading partners,” the statement said. Brazil also offered to share the experience and scientific knowledge gained from its response with WOAH to help improve international standards, the ministry added.

Source: Globo Rural

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