PH, Brazil signatures away from ASF pact

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL—Manila and Brasilia are one signature away from implementing a regionalization agreement on African swine fever (ASF) to ensure uninterrupted pork shipments, according to an industry group here.

Typically, the Philippine government enforces a country-wide temporary import restriction to prevent the spread of dangerous communicable animal diseases.

Article continues after this advertisement

However, with a regionalization arrangement, the government will impose an import ban only on specific areas or zones affected by animal disease.

Gabriel Morelli Ribeiro, markets manager of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), said the Philippine government “has approved” the regionalization for ASF, although it has yet to issue a circular on the agreement.

“They had settled the agreement, but it was never published by the Philippines,” Ribeiro said on the sidelines of SIAVS here. “The Philippine government has approved it, but it was not signed and published.”

“It was not made public or official for Brazil, but it was agreed informally. The terms of the agreement have already been settled. The only thing is it needs to be officially published to make it real,” he told Philippine journalists.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has yet to respond to a media inquiry on whether the agency has signed the regionalization deal between the two countries.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: DA lifts ban on poultry shipments from Brazil

Ribeiro said the group hopes that the accord would become official this year, adding that Brazil already complied with the requirements.

Article continues after this advertisement

Although it is considered a welcome development, ABPA executive manager of markets Estevao Carvalho said sealing a regionalization deal for ASF is “less urgent,” pointing out that Brazil has been ASF-free since the 1980s.

“Perhaps for this reason, the signing of this regionalization agreement for African swine fever is less [of an] emergency or less urgent than, for example, the case of avian influenza, which is spread all over the world today in wild birds,” Carvalho said.

“But yes, we are interested in these regionalization agreements, and we see that the regionalization agreements are a very important tool in maintaining the stability of trade and food security,” he added.

Manila and Brasilia signed a regionalization agreement for avian influenza in September 2025. INQ