Philippines bans imports of poultry products from Australia due to bird flu

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ agriculture ministry said it was banning the imports of birds and poultry products from Australia because of a bird flu outbreak in Australian states.

Imports from Australia of wild and domestic birds, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen will be immediately stopped, the ministry said on Saturday.

As of April, Australia ranked as the Philippines’ fourth-largest source of imported chicken meat, accounting for 4% of its total volume of chicken imports.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Himani Sarkar)