Avian flu advances, putting Brazil’s poultry sector on alert

However, the Mato Grosso state government is expected to ask for an earlier deadline, Jaime Verruck, secretary of Environment, Development, Science, Technology and Innovation (Semadesc), told Valor. “Given that the outbreak has already been completely eliminated, the governor [Eduardo Riedel] will send a request tomorrow [Thursday] to Minister [Carlos] Fávaro to bring forward this temporary suspension in Japan, which we understand is quite possible given that cases have only been recorded in subsistence birds,” he said.

The Japanese reaction surprised analysts, as the Brazilian government – after an official mission to Japan – had signaled that the Asian country would not suspend imports in the event of an outbreak in domestic poultry. “It had been guaranteed that in cases of backyard birds, there would be no closure,” said Fernando Iglesias, an animal protein analyst at Safras & Mercado, during an online event held by the consultancy on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Agriculture declined to comment on the Japanese reaction. The president of the ABPA denied that the Asian country had made any commitment. According to him, what happened was only a request for the regionalization of cases to take place at the municipal level, but with no concrete return so far.

“What was put there was the possibility of evolving to a regionalization by municipalities, but that has not yet been defined as an agreement,” said Mr. Santin.

According to ABPA, Mato Grosso do Sul exports about 2,500 tonnes of chicken meat to Japan every month, representing 0.7% of Brazil’s total monthly exports. In addition, the exporting units in Mato Grosso do Sul are owned by companies that have plants in other states. “The expectation is that there will be a reorganization of the export flow so that the impact generated by the Japanese decision is minimized,” the company said in a statement.