May 27, 2025
Bird Flu Rattles Brazil's Poultry Sector
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The confirmation last week of bird flu in a commercial flock in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has rattled Brazil's poultry sector. More than 30 markets/countries have suspended poultry exports from Brazil at least temporarily. Other locations in Brazil are still being tested for the potential of bird flu.
The infected flock was culled and everything associated with the infected flock has been disinfected as of May 22nd. Brazil's minister of agriculture, Carlos Favaro, indicated that after 28 days of no other cases being reported, Brazil could be declared free of the disease. Poultry exports may return to normal at that point. A word of caution - many subsistence farmers in Brazil have backyard flocks of birds which may or may not be infected, but the market is concerned about commercial flocks getting infected. Brazil is the largest poultry exporter in the world, responsible for approximately 40% of the world's total poultry exports.