South Africa: South Africa Lifts Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Restrictions imposed on 27 US States

On October 25, 2023, the South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) announced that the ban on poultry imports from 27 US States have been lifted. The Animal Health Directorate in the Department of Agriculture notified importers that trade restrictions on the import of live poultry, meat, and other products derived from poultry have been lifted and that trade may resume with immediate effect. USDA suspended exports of poultry from affected States in accordance with a bilateral HPAI-regionalization protocol when HPAI was discovered in February 2022. For a year and a half FAS Pretoria, industry, and APHIS have urged South Africa to honor the HPAI protocol that South Africa signed with the United States in 2015, which calls for the resumption following clearance by U.S. veterinary health authority. FAS estimates that following the lifting of these restrictions, U.S. export sales for poultry could grow by $50 million