Chicken trade disrupted as Brazil battles Newcastle disease outbreak

Global poultry supply chains are facing a sudden wave of trade disruptions after the world’s largest chicken exporter confirmed an outbreak of a highly contagious avian virus. On October 18, 2026, Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) verified a case of Newcastle disease at a commercial turkey farm in Nova Itaberaba, located in the southern state of Santa Catarina. The virus, which attacks the respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems of birds, is comparable in its disruptive potential to avian influenza.

The affected facility is an integrated supplier that raises birds exclusively for MBRF Global Foods SA (BRF), feeding its nearby Chapecó processing plant which produces poultry destined for international markets. Following the confirmation, the federal government declared a 60-day animal health emergency in four western Santa Catarina municipalities—Nova Itaberaba, Águas Frias, Coronel Freitas, and Nova Erechim—to isolate the pathogen and oversee the sanitary culling of the farm's 6,000 turkeys.

Because Brazil holds the top spot in the brazil global ranking of chicken meat exporters, importing nations reacted swiftly with a patchwork of trade barriers. Mexico’s food safety agency, Senasica, suspended all imports of Brazilian poultry meat, offal, fertile eggs, and live birds nationwide on October 19, 2026. Meanwhile, other major buyers opted for regional restrictions: China’s General Administration of Customs suspended imports from 14 poultry plants in Santa Catarina, and Chile restricted its bans solely to products originating from the affected state.

The speed of the containment effort will dictate how long these trade barriers remain in place. Santa Catarina is a critical hub for Brazilian agribusiness, accounting for approximately 13% to 15% of the country's total poultry production. During a previous Newcastle disease flare-up in the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul in July 2024, Brazil was forced to halt shipments to several major partners, and it took 18 months to fully restore poultry trade access with China.

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For retail investors holding global food and protein producers, the outbreak introduces immediate volatility to the poultry sector. Shares of MBRF Global Foods SA, which are listed in New York as American Depositary Receipts, fell 4.1% in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. Investors can track the broader impact on global meatpackers through diversified agribusiness exchange-traded funds, such as the VanEck Future of Food ETF, which holds exposure to major international agricultural and protein processing companies.