Amid increasing prices of chicken and eggs, the Department of Agriculture lifted the temporary ban on imports of birds and poultry products from Japan.

On Wednesday, the DA announced that Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. issued a memorandum order that would allow resumption of day-old-chicks and hatching eggs importation from Japan which was previously banned due to recent bird flu cases.

“Based on the evaluation of the Department of Agriculture, the risk of contamination from importing live poultry, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen is negligible,” Laurel stated in his memo.

The DA noted that "Japan had earlier reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) that earlier cases of the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) had been resolved and that no additional cases have been reported since June 2, 2024."

"Japan first reported cases of the H5N1 subtype of the bird flu virus on Nov. 8, 2023. H5N1 could spread rapidly among the bird population, including poultry, which is a multi billion-peso industry in the Philippines," it added.

Based on the market price watch of the Department of Agriculture, the price of medium size eggs ranges from P6.50 to P8.50 pesos per piece while fully dressed whole chicken prices are at P190 to P230 per kilo in the National Capital Region as of Wednesday. Robina Asido/DMS