November 2, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the temporary ban on the import of wild and domestic birds from Argentina, Romania and Turkey, marking the latest in a series of trade policy adjustments in response to evolving animal health risks.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed separate memorandum orders allowing imports from the three countries, citing official clearance from the World Organization for Animal Health and the absence of new outbreaks in the affected regions.
“The decision to lift the import bans was based on risk assessments conducted by the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry,” he said in a statement.
Tiu Laurel said they have determined that the risk of contamination from importing poultry meat, live birds, day-old chicks and poultry semen from Argentina and Turkey is now negligible.
The temporary ban had been put in place as a precaution to protect the local poultry industry from the spread of bird flu.
The DA said reopening poultry imports is important for maintaining a steady supply of meat, given the sector’s key role in national food security and rural employment.
Still, the DA said it would continue to enforce strict quarantine and inspection measures at all ports of entry to ensure that imported birds and poultry products meet safety standards.
Almost a week ago, the DA imposed a temporary ban on the importation of live cattle and water buffalo, as well as embryos, semen and raw hides from Spain, following an outbreak of lumpy skin disease in the region of Cataluña.
Earlier this month, the government also reopened poultry imports from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sweden and the Malaysian states of Kelantan and Sabah, after determining that these areas were free of avian influenza.
In September, the government likewise lifted restrictions on poultry imports from Israel and South Dakota in the United States, after confirming that authorities there had successfully contained earlier avian influenza outbreaks.
