China reviews Brazil poultry ban amid bird flu recovery

CHINA – Brazil’s poultry sector is seeing gradual signs of recovery as China considers lifting its import ban on chicken meat, which was imposed after a bird flu case was confirmed at a commercial farm in May.

Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said on Sunday that discussions are underway between the two countries following a meeting between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Favaro told reporters that he raised the issue during the bilateral meeting, and that China is now reviewing health protocols to resume buying poultry products from Brazil, potentially.

Although China has not indicated a specific timeline, the review marks a positive shift after over 20 countries imposed restrictions on Brazilian poultry earlier this year.

Most of those restrictions have since been removed after the World Organization for Animal Health ruled the bird flu outbreak in Rio Grande do Sul resolved in late June.

Despite the easing of bans, Brazil’s poultry exports took a significant hit in June, with fresh chicken meat shipments falling by 23% to 314,000 tons.

On Thursday, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry announced that seven more countries had reopened their markets, although bans from China, Malaysia, and Peru still remain in place.

The Brazilian government continues to push for market access and is urging countries with ongoing bans to reconsider based on international animal health standards.

Bird flu response scaled back in U.S.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ended its emergency response to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak.

The CDC said the emergency status was deactivated on July 2 due to a drop in animal infections and the absence of new human cases since February.

While the agency will no longer report bird flu cases in animals on its website, monthly updates on human monitoring and testing will continue.

The CDC emphasised that the public health risk from H5N1 remains low, but added that it would ramp up activities again if needed.

Since the virus began spreading among poultry and cattle herds, 70 human infections have been reported globally, with one fatality.

The U.S. response has faced disruptions in recent months, including staffing shortages at the Department of Agriculture and the cancellation of a US$700 million contract with Moderna.

Emergency response status allows federal agencies to deploy additional resources during outbreaks, including staff and testing tools, according to the CDC.

The CDC’s bird flu response was officially launched on April 4, 2024.

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