The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Tuesday the suspension of the temporary ban on the importation of domesticated and wild birds from Iowa and Minnesota due to the bird flu outbreak in the mentioned American states.

The order for the lifting of the ban is effective immediately and will remain in force until revoked, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

Thus, importation of live poultry, poultry products, and by-products, including day-old chicks and hatching eggs, from the mentioned US states is now permitted.

Laurel said the decision was based on the official report of US veterinary authorities to the World Organization of Animal Health (WOAH) that all affected counties in Iowa and Minnesota had been free of the highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases since 10 January 2024.

Last year, the Philippines imported from the US $180.5 million worth of poultry meat and products, excluding eggs, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.