Brazil has suspended all chicken exports to China after an avian disease was found on a commercial farm, extending a previous ban and causing a blow to large-scale meatpackers including BRF.
The self-imposed restrictions, which also include a total ban on exports to the European Union and Argentina, could reduce total chicken shipments by up to 15% while they are in force, according to producer association ABPA.
The measure was taken after the country, the world’s largest chicken supplier, detected Newcastle disease on a farm in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The ban is a major setback for Brazilian producers, who have yet to fully recover after years of reduced profit margins due to a combination of rising costs and oversupply.
China imported around 276.000 tons of chicken from Brazil in the first half of 2024, or 11% of the country’s total shipments.
Brazil’s chicken exports generated revenues of USD 4.6 billion in the first half of 2024, according to government figures.
Newcastle disease attacks the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems, but the case appears to be isolated, as there are no signs yet that it is spreading, according to Brazil’s agriculture minister.
