Brazil halts some poultry exports after Newcastle disease case

By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -The world's top chicken exporter Brazil has voluntarily halted poultry exports to some countries after a case of Newcastle disease was detected in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, its agriculture ministry said on Friday.

The move comes as local authorities try to contain the viral disease after around 7,000 birds died on a chicken farm in Brazil's southernmost state. The flock's remaining 7,000 birds were culled to comply with health protocols, according to meat lobby group ABPA.

From a sample of 12 birds from the flock, government investigators found at least one positive case of Newcastle, ABPA, which represents exporters such as JBS and BRF, said.

Newcastle causes respiratory problems in birds and sometimes leads to death.

The temporary export restrictions could affect 50,000 to 60,000 metric tons of Brazilian poultry exports "in the worst-case scenario," ABPA said. Brazil produces 1.2 million tons and exports 430,000 tons of poultry products, on average, per month.

The restrictions range, depending on the destination country, from all Brazilian poultry exports to products only from Rio Grande do Sul, the agriculture ministry said.

The restrictions affect sales to 44 nations including China, Argentina, the European Union, Japan and Saudi Arabia, the ministry said.

Rio Grande do Sul accounts for 15% of Brazilian poultry production and exports, according to ABPA.

The agriculture ministry declared an animal health emergency in Rio Grande do Sul due to the Newcastle case.

Notification by countries of Newcastle cases is mandatory under guidelines from the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The last previous confirmed cases of Newcastle in Brazil occurred in 2006 in subsistence birds in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul, according to the ministry. Subsistence birds meet a family's need for food and are not kept for trade.

(Reporting by Ana Mano, Luana Maria Benedito and Leticia Fucuchima; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Rod Nickel and Aurora Ellis)