USDA announced Just hours ago, 1.35 million farm chickens in Union County, Ohio were to be slaughtered Efforts to stem the spread of the avian influenza virus that is still active in the countrya major supplier of Cuban food.
The outbreak, which began in early 2022, is now less severe than last year because fewer cases have been found among wild birds that spread the disease, according to an Associated Press report.
despite this, So far in 2023, 8.1 million poultry have been slaughtered in the United States alone
5.8 million of which occurred in November, when several large egg farms were affected.The biggest losses were in Iowa and Minnesota, where 1.2 million chickens died and 940,000 chickens on one farm were euthanized.
Iowa, the largest egg-producing state in the United States, has been hardest hit by the epidemic, nearly 17.3 million birds died. In Ohio, one of the major egg-producing regions, only 5.1 million birds died from avian influenza.
In the last week, significant cases have been confirmed on farms in Minnesota, Maryland, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Georgia and California. The largest outbreak was reported at a chicken farm in Maryland, where 198,200 chickens were slaughtered.
In 2022, approximately 58 million poultry were culled during the outbreak. The highly contagious virus is easily spread by wild birds through feces and nasal secretions.
In view of this, Cuban economists Pedro Monreal warn This situation poses a danger to the islandConsidering “the possible evolution of recent outbreaks in Alabama and Arkansas, the second and third largest chicken-producing states in the United States.”
“With Cuba highly dependent on chicken imports from the United States, eventual complications from these outbreaks may reduce suppliesraising prices and affecting the availability of the main meat products consumed in Cuba (non-mixed),” he recalled.
Last August, Monreal said that Cuba’s official foreign trade data “confirms the seriousness of Cuba’s food insecurity,” referring to food that Cuba does not produce but must import.
“Poultry imports (almost all from the United States) reflect a disaster for national meat production, as these imports have not succeeded in compensating for the pork crisis and the evaporation of national poultry production,” the economist explained.
Just in August, the United States purchased a record amount of Cuban chicken, exceeding 35,000 tons.but At its peak in September, production plummeted 66% to only 11,953 tons.
Monreal said, “In September 2023, the value of each kilogram of chicken meat exported by the United States to Cuba ($1.21) increased by 15.2% monthly compared to the previous month ($1.05).”