Colombia is once again accepting U.S. exports of poultry and egg products after shutting off access to their market last summer due to concerns about highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The Colombian Institute of Agriculture stopped issuing import permits for poultry, egg, and genetics products last August, which a Foreign Agricultural Service report says "was a deviation from the 2012 regionalization agreement under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement between Colombia and the United States for avian influenza.”
“We’re pleased that Colombian officials are living up to the commitments outlined in the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement,” USDA's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, Alexis M. Taylor, said in a press release. “Holding our trading partners accountable is critical to ensuring the benefits of trade are felt by our farmers and ranchers across the United States and in their local communities.”
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Before the market was closed, Colombia was the 10th largest buyer of U.S. poultry, and exports of the product reached $105 million in 2022, according to the press release.
“Reopening this market was of critical importance to U.S. poultry producers and to USDA,” said USDA's undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, Jenny Lester Moffitt. “Our team collaborated tirelessly with Colombian officials to demonstrate that U.S. poultry and egg products do not pose an animal health risk and can be safely imported.”
Colombia became the sixth largest global market for U.S. agricultural products in 2023, the FAS report says.
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