SAO PAULO (AP) — Mexico, Chile and Uruguay have halted poultry imports from Brazil after the nation confirmed its first hen flu outbreak on a industrial farm, authorities stated Saturday.
On Friday, Brazil’s Agriculture and Livestock ministry stated China and the European Union had halted poultry imports from Brazil.
Mexico’s Nationwide Service for Agro-Alimentary Well being, Security and High quality stated in a press release Saturday that it suspended briefly the import of hen meat, fertile eggs, dwell birds and different poultry merchandise from Brazil as a precautionary measure.
Chile and Uruguay have additionally halted poultry imports, Luis Rua, secretary of worldwide commerce at Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, informed native information service Broadcast Agro.
Brazil is without doubt one of the world’s main producers and exporters of poultry, accounting for 14% of worldwide hen meat manufacturing, in accordance with the U.S. Division of Agriculture.
An egg scarcity in america following a hen flu outbreak there boosted Brazilian egg exports to the U.S., rising by greater than 1,000% between January and April 2025, in comparison with the identical interval the earlier yr, in accordance with commerce information from the Brazilian authorities.
Brazilian authorities stated Friday the virus was discovered at a facility within the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, including {that a} contingency plan has been applied “not only to eliminate the disease but also to maintain the sector’s productive capacity, ensuring supply and, consequently, food security for the population.”
The agriculture ministry additionally stated it notified the World Group for Animal Well being, the Ministries of Well being and the Surroundings and Brazil’s commerce companions.
Restriction on poultry exports follows guidelines agreed on with every importing nation, based mostly on worldwide well being certificates necessities, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry added. Relying on the kind of illness, some offers apply to the entire nation whereas others contain limits on the place merchandise can come from — for instance, a selected state, metropolis or simply the realm of the outbreak.
Brazilian hen exports have beforehand confronted resistance over sanitary issues. In 2018, the European Union briefly banned imports of hen from 20 Brazilian crops as a result of issues about salmonella. Brazil introduced the case to the World Commerce Group.
Comply with AP’s protection of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
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