DA lifts ban on UK chickens

With the lifting of the three-year ban on chicken imports from the United Kingdom by the Department of Agriculture (DA), that country hopes to regain its status as one of the top suppliers of chicken in the Philippine market. 

UK chickens were found to be free from the highly pathogenic avian flu influenza.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. in Memorandum Order (MO) 34 last August ordered the lifting of the ban on British poultry meat.

In the past “poultry was our second largest export to the Philippines. Why not become the (largest) sometime in the years to come?” said British Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils on the sidelines of a trade event in Makati recently.

“We’ve lost three years, sadly, so I think importers and traders have to get reacquainted with the UK market, with UK suppliers, and recognize the opportunity that is presented to them. Once they do, I think the sky’s the limit because they’ll be importing large quantities [of poultry products].”

To bolster confidence among industry stakeholders, the embassy said a regionalization agreement has been forged between the UK and the Philippines last May.

“This agreement specifies that farms, hatcheries, and slaughterhouses in affected districts will be ineligible to export, while those in unaffected areas can proceed under strict health protocols,” the British embassy said in a statement.

Beaufils said the regionalization agreement with the Philippines showed that the DA and the UK’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs have forged a “strong relationship based on trust but also on science and data.”

She added that this would also entail a sustained trade despite bird flu cases in certain areas of the UK.

“That’s the whole idea of regionalization. Even where there may be a region where there’s avian flu, that will not detract from exporting from other regions in the country. The flow can be steady again, which is ultimately what importers want here as well.”

Meanwhile, the Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) said the regionalization was a “step in the right direction.”

“This regionalization of bird flu for the UK is a good sign because the DA now is also requesting for position papers on the regionalization of ASF countries,” Mita President Emeritus Jesus Cham told reporters.

Data from the British embassy showed that bilateral trade between the UK and the Philippines reached an “all-time high” of £2.8 billion in 2023, with UK meat becoming the second-most exported commodity at £37.2 million.

“With UK poultry back on the menu, we anticipate significant growth in these figures,” Cham concluded.