Mexico, Chile and Uruguay halt poultry imports from Brazil after bird flu outbreak

SAO PAULO (AP) - Mexico, Chile and Uruguay have halted poultry imports from Brazil after the country confirmed its first bird flu outbreak on a commercial farm, authorities said Saturday.

On Friday, Brazil’s Agriculture and Livestock ministry said China and the European Union had halted poultry imports from Brazil.

Mexico’s National Service for Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality said in a statement Saturday that it suspended temporarily the import of chicken meat, fertile eggs, live birds and other poultry products from Brazil as a precautionary measure.

Chile and Uruguay have also halted poultry imports, Luis Rua, secretary of international trade at Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, told local news service Broadcast Agro.

Brazil is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of poultry, accounting for 14% of global chicken meat production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

An egg shortage in the United States following a bird flu outbreak there boosted Brazilian egg exports to the U.S., rising by more than 1,000% between January and April 2025, compared to the same period the previous year, according to trade data from the Brazilian government.

Brazilian authorities said Friday the virus was found at a facility in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, adding that a contingency plan has been implemented "not only to eliminate the disease but also to maintain the sector's productive capacity, ensuring supply and, consequently, food security for the population."

The agriculture ministry also said it notified the World Organization for Animal Health, the Ministries of Health and the Environment and Brazil's trade partners.

Restriction on poultry exports follows rules agreed on with each importing country, based on international health certificate requirements, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry added. Depending on the type of disease, some deals apply to the whole country while others involve limits on where products can come from - for example, a specific state, city or just the area of the outbreak.

Brazilian chicken exports have previously faced resistance over sanitary concerns. In 2018, the European Union temporarily banned imports of chicken from 20 Brazilian plants due to concerns about salmonella. Brazil brought the case to the World Trade Organization.