BRASILIA/SAO PAULO -- Brazil has detected a case of Newcastle disease at a turkey farm in the southern state of Santa Catarina, Agriculture Minister Andre de Paula said on Monday, raising concerns about potential disruptions to poultry shipments from the world’s largest chicken meat exporter. China, one of Brazil’s largest markets for chicken meat, halted imports from Rio Grande do Sul after a Newcastle disease case was confirmed at a commercial farm in the state in 2024. The ban was lifted earlier this year. Newcastle is a highly contagious and viral disease affecting birds, like avian flu. Brazilian officials said sanitary measures have been put in place and are expected to affect 133 farms in the region, adding all relevant information will be shared with the country’s main trading partners. Brazil’s Acting Secretary for Agricultural Trade, Rafael Requiao, said it was too early to provide any concrete information on possible import suspensions. Meat lobby group ABPA told Reuters that Brazil’s trade protocol with China provides for the suspension of poultry exports following a Newcastle disease outbreak. The protocol, ABPA said, triggers an “auto-embargo” before Chinese authorities decide whether restrictions should apply to the entire state or to a limited area around the affected farm. Analysts at Citi said that Santa Catarina accounts for around 15 per cent of Brazilian poultry production, making the scope of potential restrictions particularly relevant. (Reporting by Victor Borges in Brasilia and Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Isabel Teles and Andre Romani)
