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THE
Philippines has once again imposed a temporary ban on
poultry products coming from Japan following the
Japanese government’s admission of the presence of the
dreaded avian influenza (AI) virus in their country.
The
Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued a memorandum
order putting in place the temporary ban following a
report submitted by the Japanese government to the
Office International des Epizooties (OIE) on January 13
revealing the presence of the highly pathogenic AI (HPAI)
virus serotype H5.
Agriculture Secretary C. Yap said the order effectively
suspends the issuance of veterinary quarantine
certificates (VQCs) for the importation of domestic,
wild birds, day-old chicks, eggs, semen and other
poultry products coming from Japan.
“There
is a need to prevent the entry of HPAI virus to protect
the health of the local poultry population, as well as
human health,” said Yap in his memo.
The DA
said all its quarantine officers and inspectors at major
airports and seaports are being directed to stop and
confiscate all shipments of poultry and poultry products
into the country originating from Japan.
The DA
said the temporary ban will remain in force until Japan
could show proof that it has already contained the new
outbreak of the AI virus.
The
renewed threat of the AI virus spreading in
East Asia is prompting the
Philippines to put in place measures such as the
temporary ban to safeguard its own poultry industry.
Currently, the
Philippines
remains free from the deadly AI virus which has caused
the poultry industry of neighboring Asian countries such
as
Thailand
to suffer huge losses.
Local
chicken growers are seeking to take advantage of this
fact and are now in talks with several traders in
Europe and other Asian countries such as
Singapore to expand the market for local chicken.
The
Philippines is currently considered the major source of
various chicken products such as yakitori chicken to
Japan. |
