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Renewed fears about avian flu

An animal protein analyst says renewed fears about avian influenza have the poultry industry bracing for a more challenging 2017.

Will Sawyer with RaboBank Food and Ag Research tells Brownfield there continue to be incidences of the virus spreading throughout Europe and Asia.

“So, when we think about North America, we’re just as susceptible to those cases as they are.”

Although the emergence of avian flu is an unwelcome development, Sawyer says fundamentals of the poultry sector are mostly positive.

And U.S. producers are better prepared for disease threats than two years ago when the virus decimated the industry.

“Their biosecurity plans are at that level to where avian influenza may cause trade disruptions like we saw during 2015.  But I don’t see it causing the 40, 50 million-plus bird losses that we saw, and that’s obviously good news.”

In its Fourth Quarter Poultry Report, RaboBank says avian flu has become more of a business risk and recommends companies adjust for it in their business models.

Sawyer says that means optimal biosecurity and an active and cooperative role of government and industry.