Exotic Newcastle disease, Japan

December 29, 2004

Impact Worksheet

Summary:

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan reported on December 28, 2004 an outbreak of Newcastle disease on a commercial chicken farm in the Fukuoka prefecture.  Control measures include quarantine of the affected farm and destruction of chickens on the farm followed by disinfection.  This is the first report of Newcastle disease in Japan since September 2002. 

Japan has approximately 283 million poultry and produced over 1.2 million metric tons of poultry meat in 2003.  In terms of total world stocks and production, these products accounted for 1.8-1.9% of both stocks and production.  Japan exported 110,000 live chickens during 2002 and did not export any live poultry during 2003. 

Japan is not considered to be free of Newcastle disease by the USDA and therefore the US restricts imports of poultry or poultry products from Japan .  The poultry products that the US does import from Japan are processed and thus are legal imports and not a risk for transmission of Newcastle disease.  Between January 2003 and October 2004, the US imported processed eggs from Japan .  Japan also exported 45 live birds to the US between January 2003 and October 2004.  All but two of these birds were classified as pet birds.  Live birds imported from Japan are routinely quarantined and tested for infectious diseases prior to release for entry into the US .

How extensive is Newcastle disease in Japan , and what was Japan ’s disease status prior to the outbreak?

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan reported on December 28, 2004 an outbreak of Newcastle disease on a commercial chicken farm in the Fukuoka prefecture (see Map).  The affected farm contained approximately 100,000 chickens, with 2,551 deaths.  Control measures include quarantine of the affected farm and destruction of chickens on the farm followed by disinfection. In addition, on-site investigations are being conducted on commercial farms within a 3 kilometer radius from the affected farm and on the breeding farm where infected chickens were born.  The is the first report of Newcastle disease in Japan since September 2002.

Source: OIE Disease Information Report

What is Japan ’s place in the international market for poultry and poultry products?

Japan has approximately 283 million poultry and produced over 1.2 million metric tons of poultry meat in 2003.  In terms of total world stocks and production, these products accounted for 1.8-1.9% of both stocks and production.  Japan has approximately 2.5 million metric tons of egg production, accounting for 4.1% of world production in 2002-2003.

Table 1: Poultry Stocks and Production, Japan, 2001 and 2002

Source: United Nations FAO

Japan exported 110,000 live chickens during 2002 and did not export any live poultry during 2003.  CEI does not have information on the destination of Japan ’s live chicken exports in 2002.  Japan ’s share of world exports in poultry and poultry products is very small, amounting to 0.1 percent or less during 2002. 

Table 2:  Exports of live Poultry and Poultry Products, Japan , 2001 - 2002

Exports	Quantity	Value (1000 $)	Quantity	Value (1000 $)	% of World in 2003
	2002		2003		Quantity	Value (1000 $)
Live Birds (1,000 head)
Chickens	110	184	0	0	<0.1%		0%
Fresh or Frozen Meat (mt)
Chicken meat, not canned	2,901	2,562	2,872	2,753	<0.1%		<0.1%
Chicken meat, canned	268	870	497	1,834	<0.1%		<0.1%
Eggs, in the shell	64	126	56	137	<0.1%		<0.1%
Eggs, dried	5	110	1	78	<0.1%		<0.1%
Eggs, liquid	37	271	183	938	<0.1%		0.3%

Source: United Nations FAO

What are the US imports of live birds or poultry products from Japan ?

Japan is not considered to be free of Newcastle disease by the USDA and therefore the US restricts imports of poultry or poultry products from Japan .  The poultry products that the US does import from Japan are processed and thus are legal imports and not a risk for transmission of Newcastle disease.  Between January 2003 and October 2004, the US imported processed bird eggs valued at approximately $450,000.  In addition to the processed bird eggs, the US imported processed egg yolks valued at $6,000 during 2003.  Japan also exported 45 live birds to the US between January 2003 and October 2004.  All but two of these birds were classified as pet birds.  Live birds imported from Japan are routinely quarantined and tested for infectious diseases prior to release for entry into the US .

Table 3:  US Imports of Live Birds and Poultry Products from Japan , 2003 – Oct. 2004

Product	2003		2004 (Jan. – Oct.)
	$value (million)	quantity (head or kg)	$value (million)	Quantity (dozen or kg)
Live birds, non-poultry (hd)	unknown	27	unknown	18
Bird eggs, not in shell, fresh, cooked, frozen, or preserved (kg)	0.234	48,252	0.214	45,857
Egg yolks, fresh, cooked, frozen, or preserved (kg)	0.006	864	0	0

Source: World Trade Atlas; VS Import Tracking System

What are Canada and Mexico ’s imports of live birds or poultry products from Japan ?

Canada imported relatively small amounts of processed egg products and live non-poultry birds from Japan between 2003 and October 2004.  Mexico imported no live birds or poultry products from Japan over the same time period.

Source: World Trade Atlas

What is the level of passenger traffic arriving in the United States from Japan ?

A total of 3,169,682 residents of Japan arrived on flights to the US during 2003.  As part of APHIS-PPQ’s agriculture quarantine inspection monitoring, 9763 air passengers from Japan were sampled for items of agricultural interest in fiscal year 2003.  Two of these passengers were found to be carrying a small amount of eggs; neither of the 2 passengers reported plans to visit a farm or ranch while in the US .

Source: Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, US Department of Commerce, USDA APHIS-PPQ Agricultural Quarantine Inspection databases, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

CEI’s plans for follow up:

If you need more information or if you want to comment on this worksheet, you may reply to this message, or contact Judy Akkina at (970) 494-7324 or Chris Kopral at (970) 494-7325.