Department of Agriculture temporarily bans French poultry imports

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has imposed a temporary import ban on poultry and poultry products from France after the European country reported a confirmed bird flu case.

The measure is meant to protect the country’s domestic poultry population from highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel in his Memorandum Order (MO) 40.

Under the order, Tiu Laurel immediately banned the importation of domestic and wild birds including their products such as poultry meat, day-old chicks and eggs and semen from France.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has suspended the processing, evaluation of application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for the importation of the above-mentioned products.

However, all poultry shipments from France that are already in transit to the Philippines before the official communication of the order to French authorities shall be allowed to enter the country as long as they were slaughtered or produced on or before July 25.

Nonetheless, all poultry shipments from France that were slaughtered or produced beyond July 25 that would arrive in the country will be stopped and confiscated by the government’s veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors.

The DA noted that France, through its competent authorities, reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health last month that there was an outbreak of H5 HPAI in Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France on Aug. 7.

The concerned bird flu case affected domestic poultry birds as confirmed by a national laboratory in France, according to MO 40.

The country imported some19,252 kilos of chicken meat products from France in the first half, based on latest BAI data.

France also exported about 3,900 kilos of duck meat, all of which being offals, to the Philippines during the six-month period, according to BAI.

The Philippines usually imposes a temporary import ban on trade partners that have confirmed bird flu cases to protect the domestic poultry population from transboundary animal diseases like HPAI.