Saudi Arabia suspended poultry meat imports from Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina on Wednesday after a case of Newcastle disease was detected at a commercial turkey farm, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
The move adds to mounting trade restrictions on the world’s largest chicken exporter, with China also blocking shipments from Santa Catarina and Malaysia and Mexico imposing broader bans covering all of Brazil.
Saudi Arabia is Brazil’s fourth-largest chicken export market, accounting for 8% of total shipments. The kingdom imported 327,800 metric tons of Brazilian chicken meat from January through September, according to official data.
China, which accounts for 10% of Brazil’s chicken exports, announced restrictions on poultry products from Santa Catarina on Tuesday following the detection of the disease earlier this week.
Nationwide Restrictions
Malaysia also suspended imports of poultry meat, processed poultry products and offal from across Brazil on Wednesday afternoon, the Agriculture Ministry said. The Southeast Asian country accounted for less than 0.5% of Brazilian chicken exports in the first nine months of the year.
Mexico has also halted imports of Brazilian chicken meat nationwide. Its restrictions extend to live birds, fertile eggs, chicks up to three days old and songbirds originating in Brazil.
Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said it remains in contact with sanitary authorities in importing countries, providing technical information on the outbreak and the control measures implemented since the disease was detected.
This story was translated from the original Portuguese with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by The AgriBiz editorial staff.
