Date of issue: 7 June 2024
Date of effect: Immediate
Related MAAs: 2024-08, 2024-10
Attention
- Egg Exporters - Australian
- Egg Export establishments
- Licensed exporters
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Central and Regional offices
This Market Access Advice (MAA) updates related MAAs listed above which provided an update on the high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) incident in Victoria, and further information on affected export health certificates. This MAA also provides an update on changes to import conditions for Singapore.
Disease situation
Tracing and surveillance activities continue across the state of Victoria. Further advice will be available in the next MAA.
Country import restrictions and certification advice
Please refer to Attachment 1 for a list of all Australian export health certification affected by this HPAI incident in Victoria.
Please note that as a priority, the department continues to correspond with other key poultry markets including Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to confirm continuation of safe trade, where possible.
Certificate reinstatement
Singapore
On 6 June 2024, the department received confirmation from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) that they will continue to accept product as per the below advice:
Poultry and poultry products (including eggs) produced on or before 16 May 2024:
- Singapore will continue to accept all poultry and poultry products (including eggs) produced on or before 16 May 2024.
Poultry and poultry products (including eggs) products produced on or after 17 May 2024:
- Frozen and chilled poultry meat and meat products, eggs and raw pet meat and processed animal food:
- Singapore will continue to accept product if the birds/eggs from which the product was derived are sourced from outside the Control Area(s) established around the infected premises.
- These Control Areas are identified on the Agriculture Victoria website.
Eligibility for these products will need to be verified through the department on application of certification.
Distressed and detained consignments
The department is working as a priority to seek clearance for affected product in transit with a slaughter or collection date on or before 16 May 2024. This includes the provision of facilitation letters and the utilisation of the Agriculture Counsellor network where appropriate. The department is also engaging with trading partners to seek agreement on the continuation of safe trade in products that have been heat treated which will ensure that HPAI is not present in the goods.
If your product has a slaughter or collection date on or after 17 May 2024, facilitation will be on a case-by-case basis. Please contact exportstandards@aff.gov.au with the below information for advice on whether facilitation is possible for your product.
The department has contacted those exporters who have affected consignments currently in transit. If you have not been contacted by the department, and you have a consignment of poultry and poultry products that is in transit and is likely to be detained, or your consignment is currently detained, please contact Exportstandards@aff.gov.au with the following information:
- Destination country
- Exporter (name/company)
- Consignee (name/company)
- RFP, REX or import permit number and issue date
- Container number
- Seal number and seal date
- Product description
- Slaughter / packing dates
- Establishment name / number
- Establishment address
- Health certificate number
- Official documentation from trading partner confirming details of the detainment
- Confirmation of where the product was sourced
- Any other relevant information.
Returned product
The department is also aware that some goods will need to be returned to Australia. The department has detailed advice on returned meat and meat products on the it’s website. If you require further assistance, please contact returnedexportfood@aff.gov.au.
If the goods being returned are non-prescribed goods (NPGs) or eggs, contact the following teams:
Non-Prescribed goods - npgexports@aff.gov.au
Dairy/Fish and Eggs team - dairyeggsfish@aff.gov.au
Guidance on export of poultry and poultry products
Rendered or cooked
For rendered or cooked poultry products or rendered products that contain poultry, the department is working to reinstate certification for these products as quickly as possible, unless advised otherwise by the overseas competent authority. This includes heat-treated products that pose no risk of HPAI transmission, such as:
- heat-treated poultry meat products in a hermetically sealed container with an F0 value of 3 or above
- extruded dry pet food and coated ingredients after extrusion
- rendered protein meal, blood meal, feather meal, and poultry oil
- washed and steam-dried feathers and down from poultry and other birds.
The department will provide updates on this in future MAA’s as information becomes available.
Further information
The information provided above is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.
Contact ExportStandards@aff.gov.au if you have any queries.