The Brazilian government has suspended the country’s exports of poultry meat to China – its main importer – on Friday, July 19, as well as restricted shipments for another 43 countries after the confirmation of a case of Newcastle disease in a commercial poultry production unit in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The restriction might affect the local corn and soymeal markets, which are heavily used in poultry feed.
On Thursday, July 18, Brazil imposed a self-embargo restricted to poultry meat and by-products from Rio Grande do Sul, where the case was reported in the city of Anta Gorda, on Wednesday, July 17. Shipments from the whole country were suspended only to Argentina and the EU.
Rio Grande do Sul is the third largest exporter of poultry meat in Brazil, behind Paraná and Santa Catarina, and has exported 354,000 tonnes in the first six months of the year, which represents 14.1% of the 2.52 million tonnes Brazil exported in the semester.
In a new decision, released on Friday, the suspension was extended to poultry products from all of Brazil for China, Argentina, Peru and Mexico.
The disease is caused by a virus and has mandatory notification to the World Organization for Animal Health. The self-embargo is usually implemented in agreement with the sanitary protocols between importers and exporters. It usually is a faster approach than waiting for the buyers to impose restrictions and allows for a faster resumption of sales.
Export restrictions for different countries
The measure was first communicated in official documents from the Department of Inspection of Products of Animal Origin of the Ministry of Agriculture, one regarding China specifically and the other concerning other markets.
“The certification for export is a bilateral agreement between partner countries, and for this reason the ministry of agriculture preventively reviewed the International Health Certificates (CSI) in order to meet the agreed guarantees and requirements,” the ministry said in a statement.
For countries such as Canada, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Morocco, Mauritius, Namibia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and East Timor, the restriction for exports of different poultry meats and products is from a radius of 50 km from the outbreak.
Exports for other 30 countries, including important markets such as Saudi Arabia, remain restricted to different poultry meat and products from the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The ministry also stated that the suspension rules will be reviewed daily, “taking into account the ongoing negotiations with partner countries, in which all the actions being carried out to eradicate the outbreak are presented.”
