RP bans poultry from Bhutan following bird flu outbreak

The Philippines has banned poultry products from Bhutan due to an outbreak of bird flu in the South Asian country. In an order issued last March 4 and posted on its Website, the Agriculture department said it had temporarily banned imports of domestic and wild birds, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Bhutan. "Based on the report submitted... to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), an occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in [Bhutan]," the agency said. Specifically, the H5N1 strain has been detected in chickens in the province of Chhukha. The Philippines, however, does not import poultry or livestock products from Bhutan, data from the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS) showed. At the same time, the Agriculture department said it was lifting the ban it had imposed on poultry products from France and Spain last December 21 and July 2, respectively. Last year, France reported cases of low pathogenic avian influenza, while Spain reported cases of high pathogenic avian influenza. The department said both countries had regained their avian influenza-free country status. Data from the Agriculture Statistics bureau showed that the country had imported 548 million kilos of poultry and livestock products worth $589 million last year. Of the total, 17 million kg of products worth $15 million were from Spain, while 41 million kg worth $50.55 million came from France. — Kristine Jane R. Liu, BusinessWorld