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In an advisory, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Poland has announced the suspension of its poultry product exports, including eggs, from select regions for a minimum of 30 days starting last April 23.
AFP, file
MANILA, Philippines — The export restriction on poultry products from certain regions of Poland may impact the country’s supply base for imported raw materials, particularly mechanically deboned meat (MDM), which is a vital raw material of local meat processors, industry players said.
In an advisory, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Poland has announced the suspension of its poultry product exports, including eggs, from select regions for a minimum of 30 days starting last April 23.
The decision followed the European Commission’s implementation of emergency measures to address and curb the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in high-risk areas in Europe.
The export ban covers the following areas in Poland: Mazowieckie (East-Central), Wielkopolskie (West-Central), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Mid-Northern), Lódzkie (Central) and Warminsko-Mazurskie (Northeast).
“The EC has classified the above regions as ‘high risk’ for the spread of HPAI, which recorded 73 confirmed cases,” the DTI said.
The DTI noted that the areas of Mazowieckie and Wielkopolskie alone accounted for at least 40 percent of the chickens raised in Poland, indicating the importance of the two regions in the European country’s poultry production.
Foreign news outlets have reported that Poland has recorded at least 79 HPAI outbreaks so far this year, higher than the total of 50 recorded last year.
Industry players, from broiler raisers to meat importers, said the export restriction would limit the imports from Poland, which has been one of the rising sources of the country for both day-old-chicks and poultry products.
Sources noted that Poland has been eyed by both the industry and the government as an alternative source for hatching eggs that would become day-old chicks as traditional sources like the US are grappling with bird flu outbreaks.
“It will reduce our supply base,” United Broiler Raisers Association chairman Elias Jose Inciong told The STAR.
Another industry source said the local meat processors would also be affected since Poland is slowly becoming one of their reliable sources of chicken MDM that they use in the production of items like hot dogs and meat loaves.
The country imported 24,000 metric tons (MT) of chicken meat products, mostly MDM, from Poland last year compared to the measly 71 MT import volume in 2023, based on Bureau of Animal Industry data. Of the total imports from Poland last year, about 22,644 MT were chicken MDM.
Poland was officially accredited by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to export poultry products to the Philippines in 2023.
The DA has not imposed any import ban on Polish poultry products from areas with confirmed bird flu outbreaks to date.
Poland is the third-largest exporter of poultry products in the world and the biggest in Europe.
Last year, Poland exported at least 1.79 million MT of poultry products, based on International Trade Centre data.
