Philippines lifts poultry ban on Japan

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) lifted the temporary ban on poultry imports from Japan after officials declared the East Asian country free of bird flu.

The DA issued Department Circular No. 40, resuming imports of domestic and wild birds, including day-old chicks and hatching eggs, from Japan.

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“The decision restores access to an important source of poultry breeding stock while maintaining safeguards to protect the country’s livestock and poultry industries,” the DA said in a statement on Thursday.

The DA said Japan supplies high-quality breeding stock and hatching eggs that help sustain local production and improve flock genetics.

“Restoring these imports could ease supply constraints for commercial producers while supporting long-term productivity,” it added.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the decision reflects the agency’s science-based approach to balancing food security with protection of the local livestock and poultry industries.

“We will never compromise the health of our poultry industry, but we also recognize the importance of keeping reliable supply channels open when science tells us the risk has been effectively eliminated,” Tiu Laurel said.

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“Lifting the ban supports food security by ensuring access to quality breeding materials, strengthens the competitiveness of our poultry sector, and demonstrates that sound animal health measures can protect both public health and agricultural production,” he added.

The DA lifted the ban after resolving the reported avian influenza case, and no further outbreaks occurred. Under the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code, Japan is now free of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI).

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The DA’s assessment found the risk of contamination from poultry imports from Japan to be “negligible,” according to the circular.

The agency imposed the ban in November 2025 after Japanese authorities reported a bird flu outbreak among domestic birds in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, a month earlier. /pai