DA: ‘Brief supply gap’ in chicken meat seen as import ban on Brazil looms

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture said there could be a “brief supply gap” in chicken meat supply once the country imposes an import ban on Brazil, which was hit by a bird flu outbreak.

Brazil, the world’s top chicken exporter, confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu in a poultry farm in Montenegro City. The South American country is also no longer allowed to ship poultry and meat products to the European Union due to the outbreak.

In a Malacañang briefing on Monday, May 19, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the Philippines will have to impose a countrywide poultry ban on Brazil in the absence of a regionalization agreement. He, however, did not provide a timeline.

“Hindi lang naman Brazil ang nagsu-supply sa Pilipinas, maraming nagsu-supply ng frozen chicken to the Philippines so magda-divert lang ng market,” Tiu Laurel said.

[Translation: Brazil is not the only supplier. There are many suppliers of frozen chicken to the Philippines, so we will have to divert the market.]

He said Brazil is a strong market because it has the cheapest price among other suppliers.

“Baka may [There might be a] brief supply gap lang na baka [for] one or two weeks, because they have to change origins,” Tiu Laurel said. “But in general, I don’t see any issue, because even our local poultry industry is medyo maganda ang production eh [has a good production].”

As of February, over 44 million kilograms of chicken have been imported from Brazil, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry’s data. It comprised around 57 percent of the total chicken meat imports.