Following a bird flu outbreak, an official at Japan’s agriculture ministry announced on Monday ( May 19 ) that it has suspended imports of poultry meat from the southern Brazilian city of Montenegro and live poultry from the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The ban was put in place on Friday after Brazil, the largest meat exporter in the world, declared its second bird flu outbreak on a chicken farm. The announcement resulted in a country-wide industry ban from China’s best buyer and provincial restrictions for other main consumers.
The spread of bird flu in Brazil, which is already a major factor in Japan’s growing food prices, may be a result of the country’s dependence on imported meat.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries reports that Japan has a self-sufficiency rate of about 65 % for poultry meat, including processed goods.
About 429, 000 metric tons of Brazilian chicken meat were imported for the 2024 fiscal year, which ended on March 31. This account accounts for roughly 70 % of all imported chicken meat, excluding processed goods.
A department official said,” We will carefully monitor the impact on domestic supply and business problems.”