Iraq, South Korea lift their bans on Brazilian chicken exports
Iraq removes trade embargo; South Korea limits restriction to outbreak zone as Brazil works to resume poultry exports.
WORLD – Iraq has officially withdrawn a ban on chicken meat imports from Brazil that was implemented last month following a bird flu case on a commercial farm, according to a statement by Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry.
South Korea, which also suspended Brazilian poultry imports, has now eased its stance, restricting only products from the region where the outbreak occurred.
The two countries were among several that introduced full or partial bans on poultry products from Brazil, the world’s largest chicken exporter, after a case of avian influenza was detected in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
That outbreak, reported in a breeder farm in the municipality of Montenegro, led authorities to cull approximately 17,000 birds as a containment measure.
Trade Impact and Recovery Efforts
Following the incident, importers including China temporarily halted purchases of Brazilian chicken, causing disruptions in a country that supplies nearly 39% of the global poultry market.
In response, Brazil’s agricultural authorities began a 28-day observation period starting on May 22, after sanitizing the affected facility.
The Agriculture Ministry later announced that no new cases had been reported on commercial farms during this monitoring period, allowing the country to declare its poultry industry free of bird flu last week.
Despite this declaration, Brazil must now hold individual negotiations with each importing country to have the remaining trade restrictions lifted.
Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said talks are ongoing to reestablish exports and that each partner country will follow its own evaluation process based on health agreements.
Meanwhile, a regional official from Rio Grande do Sul confirmed that all containment and cleaning protocols had been completed as per international standards.
Still, the official disease-free status must be acknowledged by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) before full international trade can resume.
Until such recognition is granted, Brazilian poultry exports will continue to face partial limitations, even though the virus has been contained within domestic borders.
The government maintains that the outbreak was isolated and handled in accordance with global disease control measures.
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