Japan has temporarily suspended imports of poultry from Brazil’s Santa Catarina state after the confirmation of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) case in a backyard chicken in the municipality of Maracaja.
To resume purchases, the Japanese authorities asked the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) to forward detailed information about the new case. According to the Brazilian government, the data has already been sent, and Mapa continues to work to reduce the impact of the restrictions on Brazilian exporters.
The property has been isolated since the first service performed by the Official Veterinary Service (SVO). After confirmation, all birds were euthanized, and their carcasses were destroyed and buried.
The Brazilian Ministry also reinforced that, according to the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the occurrence of infection in wild and domestic poultry does not compromise Brazil’s status as a disease-free country.
Next week, the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro, will lead an official delegation to Tokyo to meet with the Japanese authorities, “with the aim that they adjust the requirements for importing poultry and their products to the WOAH guidelines”, said the ministry.
In a joint statement, the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), the Catarinense Poultry Association (Acav) and the Union of the Meat and Derivatives Industry in the State of Santa Catarina (Sindicarne-SC) regretted the decision.
Second largest exporter of poultry in the country, the state of Santa Catarina was responsible for the sale of 545.5 thousand tons outside Brazil in the first half of 2023. According to the entities, however, monthly shipments of poultry meat from Santa Catarina plants to Japan represent less than 3% of the total exported by Brazil.