Japan Suspends Imports of Poultry from Brazil’s Santa Catarina

Japan announced on Monday, July 17, that it would suspend imports of poultry, poultry meat, and eggs from Santa Catarina, Brazil, after a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed in a backyard flock in the state.

The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that the decision was transmitted by the Brazilian attaché in Tokyo.

“The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan – MAFF has informed that the inspections for the import of live poultry, poultry meat, and egg products from the state of Santa Catarina are suspended in Japan,” the Brazilian government said in the document seen by Globo Rural.

“We inform that MAPA [Brazilian Agriculture Ministry] is providing the necessary arrangements to clarify the situation to the Japanese authorities,” it added.

The animal infected with HPAI H5N1 is a domestic chicken found in the city of Maracajá (SC), and the confirmation of the disease was given by the federal government on Saturday, July 15.

Santa Catarina is the country’s second-largest chicken meat producer, behind Paraná, which has raised the level of alert in the sector since the disease was found in wild birds in the region. On the other hand, only 3% of the imports of poultry from Japan come from the Santa Catarina industry, according to information from the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA).

See below Brazil’s poultry exports to Japan between Jan 2019 to May 2023. The data is from DataLiner.

Poultry exports to Japan | Jan 2019 – May 2023 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

In the sector

Representatives of the poultry industry regretted the decision of Japan, and the industry expects that this demand will be redirected to meatpackers in other states authorized to export to the Asian country.

The sector’s statements were made through a joint statement by ABPA, the Santa Catarina Poultry Association (ACAV), and the Union of the Industry of Meats and Derivatives in the State of Santa Catarina (Sindicarne – SC), released on Monday, July 17.

“ABPA, ACAV, and Sindicarne – SC expect that other cold storage units will absorb part of the impact of the suspension also authorized to export, located in other states – thus reducing the negative effects for Brazilian exports and Japanese consumers,” the entities said.

Health status

They also highlighted that the focus of the disease found in a backyard does not alter the status of Brazil as free of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The country has no records of the flu in its industrial production, the only situation that could generate a change in the Brazilian status, according to the recommendation of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The sector entities also reinforced that they continue to support the work of monitoring and controlling the disease carried out by federal and regional health authorities.

Japan, for its part, had already suspended the import of poultry and by-products from Espírito Santo when a case of avian influenza in a backyard flock was detected in Serra (ES) last month.

Source: Globo Rural

To read the original story in Portuguese, please go to: https://globorural.globo.com/pecuaria/noticia/2023/07/japao-suspende-importacao-de-aves-de-sc-apos-gripe-aviaria-em-criacao-domestica.ghtml

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