Brazil poultry ban starts to impact local supply

The Department of Agriculture is evaluating whether to implement regionalisation for chicken imports from Brazil to meet local demand while protecting biosecurity.

This move comes after South Africa suspended imports of live poultry, eggs, and fresh or frozen chicken from Brazil due to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

On 15 May 2025, Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock reported an H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) outbreak at a chicken breeding facility in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul.

Concerns remain

South Africa suspended trade in live poultry, eggs, and fresh poultry meat and revised its import permit process in response to the outbreak.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen stated that although the country has enough locally produced slaughter chickens, the ban on Brazilian poultry imports could affect the food supply chain, especially the cost and availability of processed meats and pet food.

He added that the department is actively engaging with Brazilian authorities to confirm that the outbreak hasn’t spread to other states or additional farms in unaffected regions.

“This is a necessary procedure of ensuring that we don’t introduce the virus to South Africans and infect the poultry industry. We need to balance food security realities with biosecurity imperatives,” Steenhuisen explained.

The Minister added that the department has established that the reason for the delay in Brazil responding to South Africa’s enquiries is due to the number of similar enquiries Brazil is receiving and responding to, since Brazil exports poultry products to many other countries.