Latest news with #chickenexport
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil's BRF confident bird flu crisis will be over soon
SAO PAULO, June 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian food processor BRF ( opens new tab is confident local companies will be able to circumvent chicken trade bans in a matter of days as local authorities have so far been able to control a bird flu outbreak in the world's largest chicken-exporting nation. Speaking at an industry event in Sao Paulo on Thursday, BRF's vice president for quality, Fabio Stumpf, said a combination of well-trained farm workers, strict biosecurity protocols and efficient state and federal farm agencies contributed to delaying the arrival of bird flu on Brazilian poultry farms. Brazil's first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu on a commercial chicken farm was confirmed on May 16, triggering regional and country trade embargoes, which hurt exporters and increased chicken supplies domestically in the short-term, reducing local prices. The disease was first detected in the country on wild birds in 2023. Since then, the Brazilian government has processed over 4,000 samples and confirmed some 171 bird flu outbreaks, mainly among wild animals. Addressing a panel, Stumpf said he had "no doubt" countries would open up to trade over the coming few days, as almost three weeks have passed after the only bird flu case was confirmed on a commercial farm in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul state. Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro also said this week there were signs the outbreak had been controlled efficiently. Still, there are 12 active investigations into potential new outbreaks, most of which are on backyard flocks or wild birds, which do not trigger trade restrictions, according to the ministry's website.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Brazil farmers, officials step up controls where bird flu was found on commercial farm
By Debora Ely MONTENEGRO, Brazil (Reuters) -Officials and chicken farmers in Brazil have stepped up sanitary controls close to where the country's first case of avian influenza was found on a commercial farm, while racing to track the virus to stop its spread. Brazil is the world's largest chicken exporter. News on Friday of the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza found on a commercial farm in Montenegro, in Rio Grande do Sul state, triggered trade bans for Brazilian chicken by China and the European Union, as well as fellow Latin American countries Mexico and Argentina, among others. Brazilian authorities at the state and federal level have scrambled to prevent bird flu from spreading. On Saturday, the government of Minas Gerais state said it destroyed 450 metric tons of eggs from Rio Grande do Sul. Eggs from the affected farm were traced to locations in Minas Gerais, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's agriculture ministry said, adding they would be destroyed. Some 1.7 million eggs have been destroyed in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the state's department of agriculture. "We don't know what's going to happen, if there's going to be stagnation, if we're going to keep producing - we don't know anything," said Celso Zweibricker, 65, a chicken farmer in Montenegro. With 76,000 birds to protect, Zweibricker stepped up sanitary controls, denying access to visitors and insisting that chicken-feed deliverers could only enter the site with clean boots. "We don't want anyone to come in," Zweibricker said. The outbreak of highly infectious bird flu that started in 2022 has devastated production of chicken and eggs in the United States, leading to the culling of millions of poultry birds, and has spread to dairy farms across the U.S. On Saturday, teams from Vibra Foods, a Brazilian operation backed by Tyson Foods which runs the farm where bird flu was detected, buried waste that had first been incinerated to prevent the spread of the virus. The virus killed around 15,000 birds and the farm culled an additional 2,000. Vibra Foods did not respond to requests for comment. Brazil's agriculture ministry and Rio Grande do Sul's department of agriculture created a task force in Montenegro to prevent the virus spreading, with officials visiting 524 properties within a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) radius of the farm where the first case was found. Teams from the ministry and state department, with support from the military police, will set up a total of seven disinfection barriers close to the farm, washing passing vehicles with water and disinfectant, the department of agriculture in Rio Grande do Sul said. On Saturday, a sample taken from a duck on a non-commercial farm suspected of having bird flu was collected and sent for testing, Rosane Collares, director of animal health surveillance and defense for the Rio Grande do Sul's department of agriculture, told Reuters. "Our goal is to eliminate this outbreak and return to the previous condition as quickly as possible," Collares said.
Reuters
18-05-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Brazil farmers, officials step up controls where bird flu was found on commercial farm
MONTENEGRO, Brazil, May 18 (Reuters) - Officials and chicken farmers in Brazil have stepped up sanitary controls close to where the country's first case of avian influenza was found on a commercial farm, while racing to track the virus to stop its spread. Brazil is the world's largest chicken exporter. News on Friday of the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza found on a commercial farm in Montenegro, in Rio Grande do Sul state, triggered trade bans for Brazilian chicken by China and the European Union, as well as fellow Latin American countries Mexico and Argentina, among others. Brazilian authorities at the state and federal level have scrambled to prevent bird flu from spreading. On Saturday, the government of Minas Gerais state said it destroyed 450 metric tons of eggs from Rio Grande do Sul. Eggs from the affected farm were traced to locations in Minas Gerais, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's agriculture ministry said, adding they would be destroyed. Some 1.7 million eggs have been destroyed in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the state's department of agriculture. "We don't know what's going to happen, if there's going to be stagnation, if we're going to keep producing - we don't know anything," said Celso Zweibricker, 65, a chicken farmer in Montenegro. With 76,000 birds to protect, Zweibricker stepped up sanitary controls, denying access to visitors and insisting that chicken-feed deliverers could only enter the site with clean boots. "We don't want anyone to come in," Zweibricker said. The outbreak of highly infectious bird flu that started in 2022 has devastated production of chicken and eggs in the United States, leading to the culling of millions of poultry birds, and has spread to dairy farms across the U.S. On Saturday, teams from Vibra Foods, a Brazilian operation backed by Tyson Foods (TSN.N), opens new tab which runs the farm where bird flu was detected, buried waste that had first been incinerated to prevent the spread of the virus. The virus killed around 15,000 birds and the farm culled an additional 2,000. Vibra Foods did not respond to requests for comment. Brazil's agriculture ministry and Rio Grande do Sul's department of agriculture created a task force in Montenegro to prevent the virus spreading, with officials visiting 524 properties within a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) radius of the farm where the first case was found. Teams from the ministry and state department, with support from the military police, will set up a total of seven disinfection barriers close to the farm, washing passing vehicles with water and disinfectant, the department of agriculture in Rio Grande do Sul said. On Saturday, a sample taken from a duck on a non-commercial farm suspected of having bird flu was collected and sent for testing, Rosane Collares, director of animal health surveillance and defense for the Rio Grande do Sul's department of agriculture, told Reuters. "Our goal is to eliminate this outbreak and return to the previous condition as quickly as possible," Collares said.
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil's first bird flu case on commercial firm triggers Chinese ban
SAO PAULO, May 16 (Reuters) - Brazil on Friday confirmed its first case of the highly contagious bird flu virus on a commercial chicken farm in the south of the nation, triggering a temporary trade ban from its main trade partner China. *Brazil is the world's largest meat exporter and second largest producer behind the United States. *Brazil's total chicken meat exports hit a record volume of 5.294 million metric tons in 2024, according to trade data compiled by industry group ABPA. *Brazil generated $9.928 billion in export revenue last year, also a record. *China was Brazil's main chicken export destination, importing some 562,200 metric tons in 2024, followed by the United Arab Emirates, with 455,100 metric tons, Japan, with 443,200 tons, and Saudi Arabia, with 370,800 tons, according to the data. *Other major export destinations included South Africa, the Philippines, the European Union, Mexico and South Korea.
