Bans on U.S. poultry exports persist even as avian flu recedes

US poultry producers say they face prolonged economic woes from avian flu despite months without infections in flocks as China and some smaller importers failed to lift trade bans put in place during the country’s worst outbreak of the virus. .

Persistent bans, imposed last year to stop the spread of the disease, restrict the $6 billion US chicken meat export market, with producers also struggling with limited labor, lower chicken prices and costs. uncertain for ration.

The Chinese market is particularly important to US companies like Pilgrim’s Pride because it’s the main destination for items like chicken feet that Americans generally don’t eat, industry officials said.

China, South Africa and the Dominican Republic maintain bans on poultry from 37 states that have previously reported infections, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) records show.

Mexico, the biggest overall market for US chicken meat, has largely lifted trade bans, although shipments from Colorado, Washington state and a few others are blocked, records show.

China’s failure to lift the bans 90 days after states eliminated avian flu from farms violates a Phase 1 trade deal signed with former President Donald Trump in 2020, industry officials said.

The US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office declined to comment, and China’s General Administration of Customs did not respond to a request for comment.

The USDA did not provide updated comments on the matter. Last year, the body said it was committed to ensuring restrictions were in line with international agreements and lifted as soon as possible.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms, the third-largest US poultry producer, told Reuters that many of its facilities are in states that should have been re-approved for export months ago.

“China continues to be less than approachable when it comes to state approvals,” the company said. “We have opportunity losses that are in the millions of dollars between white meat, dark meat and feet.”

Chicken producers Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride, controlled by JBS, also highlighted the trade restrictions. Tyson reports quarterly results on Aug. 7.

“A number of key countries have yet to return to normal patterns of doing business with the United States,” Perdue said in a note to Reuters. “We look forward to our industry’s long-standing business relationships resuming.”

Avian flu disrupted trade globally as the virus spread. This summer in the northern hemisphere, Japan suspended purchases of poultry from two states of Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of chicken, after cases in domestic animals.

According to World Organization for Animal Health guidelines, regional or national trade bans apply if the highly lethal virus infects a commercial farm.

Source: Terra

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