DA lifts ban on poultry shipment nationwide

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol gave into the demands of the local poultry industry after biosecurity experts recommended that transporting poultry and its by-products from Luzon to other parts of the country is now safe.

 

In a briefing Tuesday, the Agri chief announced that he has signed an administrative order that lifts that ban on the shipment of poultry and poultry products from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao following the outbreak of the first bird flu case in the country.

 

READ: Bird flu spreads to Nueva Ecija; Piñol admits hiding initial reports

 

The ban was imposed last August 11 after announcing the bird flu case in San Luis in Pampanga as a precautionary measure to contain and avoid the spread of the virus.

 

“We made the decision to lift the ban based on recommendations that it is now safe to do that. We believe that we have already contained the virus,” Piñol said. 

 

Piñol has set the conditions for the lifting including shipments should not come from the seven-kilometer radius of San Luis in Pampanga and Jaen and San Isidro in Nueva Ecija.

 

“Any shipment to be made must be validated by our quarantine officers and must carry certification that this came from accredited and inspected farms in Luzon. Products must carry the seal of the quarantine officers,” he said.

 

READ: DA: No bird flu in Butuan

 

The decision also came after the industry urged the Agri chief to lift the ban immediately as it has been losing billions of pesos since the imposition of the ban. 

 

“The more emotional consideration is that we also have to listen to the pleadings of the farmers. We have to look at the welfare of the industry,” Piñol said.

 

However, Piñol emphasized that he did not really give into the pressure coming from the industry and that it just happened that experts already gave the green light that transporting is now safe. 

 

“Beyond the emotional consideration, our first priority is the biosecurity. They [experts] assured me that it is okay to lift the ban. The industry can pressure me for as long as they want, but if the experts said it cannot be, then I would not have allowed it [lifting],” he said.

 

The ban was supposed to be lifted by mid-September and could be delayed much more following the spread in Nueva Ecija.

Following the decision, the industry has found hope and expects that recovery for the poultry sector can be expected slowly within the next few weeks.

 

The United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) said the lifting of the ban will hopefully, result in a momentum gain for the buying and consumption of chicken products after weeks of fears due to the outbreak.

 

“Hopefully, confidence will be restored on the poultry product and we will move forward. It’s been a rough period since August 11. This is a critical turn and we are reversing the downtrend,” UBRA President Elias Jose Inciong said.

 

“Recovery in the sense that prices will be near cost to production, not necessarily with profits. Those who store their chickens in the cold storage facilities will be able to move their products. We will still be losing money, but at least there is hope already,” he added.

 

READ: Bird flu-hit Ecija towns under state of calamity

 

Farm gate prices have slumped to P10 to P15 per kilogram, way below the cost of production, from the average of P70 per kilogram. 

 

Industry estimates that it is losing approximately P179 million per day, reaching P2.3 billion on Wednesday.

 

Furthermore, Piñol said he will coordinate with the Department of the Interior and Local Government to ease the shipment of the products after the industry expressed fears that local government units might still restrict transport despite the new order.

 

“Everybody will be informed. We will coordinate with them and urge LGUs to abide by our directives,” he added.

 

The DA will also coordinate with the Department of Social Welfare and Development for the possible delivery of excessive chickens in cold storage facilities to war-torn Marawi to be given to the evacuees. 

 

“Our proposal is that instead of DSWD giving canned goods to the evacuees, why not chickens? Besides, those will be halal-certified. I will recommend this to the president. Hopefully, DSWD funds will be used to also help the industry,” Piñol said. 

 

The Agri chief maintained that there will be no importation anytime soon as there is enough supply to fill up the total volume of poultry heads that will be culled. 

 

“We told the processors to not import and instead use local chicken,” Piñol said 

 

“The supply is not a problem even before the announcement of the bird flu. It would not make sense to import at this time,” Inciong added.

The department is yet to determine the real source of the virus as experts are yet to start investigating and examining.

 

“We are just about to start determining the source. Experts from FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) and OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) are now here to help us trace,” Arlene Vytiaco, head of BAI animal disease and control division, said.

 

DA earlier suspects that the virus may have come from either migratory birds or the smuggled Peking ducks from China.

 

The laboratory test from Australia, meanwhile, confirmed that it is indeed bird flu but has yet to announce what strain it is, whether it is transmissible to humans or not. 

 

READ: Government moves to prevent bird flu jump to humans

 

“We will await one to three more days before we get the results from Australia,” Vytiaco said.