Brazil halts all chicken exports to China as virus takes toll

Brazil has halted all chicken exports to China after a virulent poultry disease was found on a commercial farm, expanding a previous ban and dealing a blow to meat packers including BRF SA. 

The self-imposed restrictions — which also include a full ban on exports to the European Union and Argentina — may curb total chicken shipments by as much as 15% while in place, according to producers group ABPA. The move comes after the world’s largest chicken supplier detected Newcastle disease at a farm in Rio Grande do Sul state.

The ban is a major setback for Brazilian producers, which are yet to fully recover from years of depressed profit margins due to a combination of surging costs and a supply glut. The restrictions have the potential to tighten global supplies of the protein, benefiting competitors in places like the US. 

China imported about 276,000 metric tons of chicken from Brazil in the first half of 2024, or 11% of the nation’s total shipments. Brazil chicken exports generated revenues of $4.6 billion in the first half of 2024, according to government data. 

Newcastle disease, which attacks the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of birds, was reported on Wednesday. The case seems to be isolated as there is no sign the virus is spreading, according to Brazil’s agriculture minister.