The Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued a temporary ban on imported beef products from Brazil.
Under Memorandum Order 23 series of 2023 dated March 22, the DA stopped the importation of live cattle, meat and meat products, bovine processed animal proteins and semen derived from cattle from South America’s largest country.
Based on data from the Bureau of Animal Industry, Brazil last year supplied the Philippines a total 69.71 million kilos of beef equivalent to 37.45 percent of the total 186.15 million-kilo beef imports in 2022.
Brazil proved the largest provider of imported beef to the Philippines last year, followed by Australia with 47.26 million kilos.
DA said the decision was based on official report by the chief veterinary officer of the Ministerio de Agricultura e Pecuaria – Porto Alegre, Brazil to the World Organization for Animal Health on January 18, 2023 indicating an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Maraba, Para infecting domestic cattle.
It added the decision is also a precaution as products infected with the mad cow disease pose a risk to consumers due to their assumed link with the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. This disease is rapidly progressive and always fatal. Infection with leads to death usually within a year of onset of illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The DA said the directive also immediately suspends the processing, application evaluation and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance of cited commodities from Brazil.
The order also said all shipments that are in transit, loaded or accepted unto ports before the official communication to Brazilian authorities will be allowed provided the products were slaughtered or produced on or before December 18, 2022.
As of end-February this year, Brazil delivered 7.52 million kilos of beef to the Philippines or 31 percent of the total 24.57 million kilos of beef imports for the period.
The prevailing per kilo retail price of beef ranges from P395 to 500 for beef rump and P350 to 430 for beef brisket.
