By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Revised commerce accords with most of Brazil’s commerce companions, together with China, make it unlikely the world’s largest hen provider will impose a nationwide ban on exports ought to the virus that causes extremely pathological avian influenza (HPAI) hit industrial flocks.

Ricardo Santin, head of a bunch representing companies like JBS and BRF, advised Reuters the agreements with commerce companions ought to restrict any export restrictions to smaller geographic areas.

Nonetheless, the main points of a 2004 bilateral sanitary protocol with China, Brazil’s prime hen purchaser final 12 months, might spell some ache for exporters.

The protocol, which the agriculture ministry mentioned stays in pressure, requires fast notification to Beijing of epidemic illnesses and imposes momentary nationwide and native bans relying on the kind of sickness threatening the well being of poultry.

It additionally stipulates that exported meat should come from farms freed from any avian disease-related restrictions for 12 months.

Santin declined to elaborate on how he expects Beijing and Brasilia to use the 2004 protocol within the occasion of an outbreak in Brazil’s industrial flock.

This week, HPAI was detected in wild birds within the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, elevating the chance of an infection on poultry farms, that are largely concentrated in southern Brazil. Rio Grande do Sul ships 16% of Brazil’s hen exports.

Brazil has registered 19 outbreaks of HPAI in wild birds nationwide this 12 months.

Santin mentioned Brazil started renegotiating sanitary protocols in 2021 with round 70% of international markets.

He mentioned in precept most of Brazil’s shoppers settle for that “a containment zone” could also be established for commerce functions, based mostly on World Group for Animal Well being (WOAH) pointers.

These practices, nevertheless, might not fulfill consumers like Japan, Mexico and South Africa, who haven’t revised agreements with Brazil, he mentioned.

WOAH outlines finest practices for “zoning” and compartmentalizing HPAI an infection to particular areas in danger so as to ease nation-wide restrictions, permitting international locations to proceed to promote and export of poultry.

The U.S., which competes with Brazil in poultry export markets, had HPAI outbreaks however continued to ship merchandise.

U.S. turkey and egg manufacturing dropped 6% and a pair of% respectively in 2022 as avian flu worn out flocks. Nonetheless, whole poultry meat exports rose 3% by quantity and 14% by worth, as revised commerce agreements restricted commerce restrictions in contrast with a earlier file U.S. hen flu outbreak in 2015.