Lifting Belgium Poultry Import Suspension

After highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed at poultry farms in Belgium, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had temporarily suspended imports of poultry meat and related products from affected areas of Belgium since October 2025. Based on information about disease-control measures and other matters provided by the Belgian veterinary authorities, the ministry confirmed that poultry in Belgium is free from avian influenza.

The temporary suspension of imports of poultry meat and related products from Belgium was lifted. Live poultry still cannot be imported because import conditions have not been established.

The lifting applies to the suspension of imports of poultry meat and related products from Belgium among the measures suspending imports of live poultry, poultry meat and related products, and poultry eggs and related products from countries or regions where outbreaks have occurred. The purpose of the measure is not food hygiene but the prevention of virus infection in live poultry raised in Japan.

Imports from Belgium were recorded as follows: poultry meat was marked as "-" in 2023, 2024, and 2025; poultry organs were likewise marked as "-"; and poultry eggs amounted to 202 tonnes, 252 tonnes, and 295 tonnes, respectively. Japan's total imports were 1,079,290 tonnes, 1,159,638 tonnes, and 1,139,574 tonnes of poultry meat; 325 tonnes, 323 tonnes, and 211 tonnes of poultry organs; and 40,510 tonnes, 24,983 tonnes, and 34,076 tonnes of poultry eggs, respectively.