Philippines bans poultry imports from Japan

The department reported thatPhilippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel on January 17 signed an order immediately suspending the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary permits for the import of wild birds, poultry and poultry products from Japan.

Accordingly, only wild birds, poultry and poultry products imported from Japan that are already in transit, loaded and received no later than November 10, 2023 will be allowed entry into the Philippines. Shipments after November 10, 2023 will either be returned to Japan or confiscated and destroyed.

On November 24 last year, Japanese authorities detected an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus strain H5N1 in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture. Japan reported the outbreak to the World Organization for Animal HEALTH on November 28.

The Philippines has imposed similar bans on imports from California and Ohio into the US due to bird flu outbreaks.