The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the ban on poultry products from the state of Minnesota in the United States of America and from the Netherlands.
Under DA memorandum orders 38 and 39 signed by senior undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, the lifting was made in the wake of evidence of the successful containment of the bird flu epidemic in the cited jurisdictions.
The issuance specifically allowed the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs and semen originating from Minnesota and the Netherlands, although they must still comply with existing DA import rules.
According to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the Philippines imported 131.3 million kilograms of chicken meat from January to April this year.
BAI data also show that for the period, the Philippines purchased 43.42 million kilograms of chicken from the United States or 33 percent of total chicken imports. No data is available on the volume that came from the state of Minnesota.
The Philippines has yet to ship chicken meat from the Netherlands from January to April 2023.
The prevailing retail price of whole dressed chicken ranges from P150 to P200 per kilo.
