The Philippine government has entered into a “regionalization” agreement with the Netherlands, the first of such deal this 2026, to ensure the continued entry of poultry products.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) recognized the regionalization framework for avian influenza with the Netherlands via Department Circular No. 05.
Under the regionalization agreement, a country-wide import ban on poultry imports from the Netherlands will no longer be imposed. Instead, imports will be allowed from areas or zones that are free of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI).
With this recognition, the DA lifted the import ban on domestic and wild birds and their products, including day-old chicks, eggs and semen.
The agency issued the circular after the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) evaluation showing that the European nation had maintained sufficient veterinary oversight and established necessary control and mitigating measures against bird flu.
Prior to this issuance, the DA requested several documentary requirements from Dutch veterinary authorities to assess the public health control measures that had been applied and implemented against bird flu.
The Netherlands is one of the accredited countries to export live poultry and poultry meat (chicken, ducks and turkey) into the Philippines.
The European country exported 76.12 million kilograms (kg) of meat to the country in 2025, 6.5 percent higher than a year ago, data from BAI showed.
The Netherlands’ meat shipments accounted for 4.6 percent of 1.64 billion kg of imported meat in 2025.
The DA signed a regionalization agreement with other countries for HPAI last year: France, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and Brazil.
The DA issued its regionalization guidelines in May last year to ensure sufficient supply and safe trade of poultry, adding that the recurrence of bird flu could affect global food security and restrict international trade. (Jordeene B. Lagare © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
