QUEZON CITY — The Department of Agriculture has ordered the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds, including their products, from the State of Minnesota, USA due to an ongoing outbreak of the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 subtype or commonly known as Bird Flu.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. issued the memorandum order No. 29 on the import ban based on the official report submitted by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to the DA, which showed confirmed cases of H5N1 infections in three counties in the State of Minnesota, USA as of June 12.
Based on a 2016 agreement between the Philippines and the U.S., a statewide ban maybe imposed by the Philippines- Department of Agriculture if there are at least three counties affected by HPAI. The USDA-APHIS has reported the HPAI cases to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). HPAI is a notifiable disease with zoonotic potential, which means it could be passed on to humans.
Sec. Tiu Laurel said the import ban will cover domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, eggs, day-old chicks and semen.
He ordered the BAI to immediately suspend the processing, evaluation of applications, and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary import Clearances (SPSIC) for those agricultural products.
Meantime, shipments from the State of Minnesota, USA that are already in transit, loaded or accepted unto port before the imposition of ban “shall be allowed provided that the products were slaughtered/produced 14 days before the first outbreak” from the place of origin.
Shipments that don’t comply with the conditions set in the import ban may either be returned to the port of origin or condemned.
Just in March of this year, the DA lifted the import ban on the State of Minnesota, USA, which was earlier imposed due to an avian influenza outbreak.
In 2023, the Philippines imported 166,356 MT of poultry products worth $175.8 million from the United States, which is the second-largest supplier of PH poultry meat imports accounting for 39 percent of overseas purchases. (DA)
