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Biosecurity plays major role in fighting bird flu
A recent report by Rabobank indicates that the outlook for the global poultry industry in 2017 has been shaken by the bird flu situation. According to the report, bird flu is spreading to other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa and the rest of Asia.
In its RaboResearch’s Global Poultry Quarterly for Q1 2017, the bank analysts noted that a sharp increase in the number of bird flu cases in China had significant implications both locally and globally.
“The global spread of bird flu requires poultry farmers to pay much more attention to biosecurity issues when planning new projects,” said Mora Paz, international sales manager and chief technologist at Agrotop. “They need to adopt all the required preventive measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases.”
“Our approach to new vertical integration projects emphasizes the importance of biosecurity,” Paz added. “We focus on all aspects relating to farm isolation, measures to prevent the disease spreading from farm to farm and setting up advanced sanitary facilities and fences.”
Rabobank said that after a sharp increase in the number of human bird flu cases in China, fears are rising over human-to-human cases with a risk of a pandemic. The economic impact of these cases is big, leading to decline of fifty percent in live broiler prices from the beginning of the third quarter of 2016 and a slowdown in import growth.
“The global impact of avian influenza on trade is significant, with ongoing restrictions on trade from Europe and also still from the US,” according to RaboResearch senior animal protein analyst Nan-Dirk Mulder. “The recent Chinese human avian influenza cases dramatically turned Chinese market conditions, especially in wet markets, and this will indirectly reduce the appetite for poultry imports in the coming months.”
Mulder added that markets, including China, would gradually recover after the Northern Hemisphere winter season, when bird flu pressure would likely be reduced. “The new global avian influenza crisis provides another wake-up call,” said Mulder. “It will force the industry and governments to further modernize business models as the virus will remain endemic in wild bird populations. Optimal biosecurity, modern value chain and distribution models, and regionalization will be key themes.”
