China Lifts HPAI Poultry Export Restrictions for 17 States

WASHINGTON, D.C. - USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) this week updated its China export restrictions webpage to reflect that China has lifted HPAI-related poultry export restrictions for 17 states, effective May 15, 2026. The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia. Only products produced on or after May 15, 2026 are eligible for export to China from these states.

BACKGROUND: China had been blocking raw poultry imports from U.S. states affected by HPAI outbreaks. Under a Regionalization Agreement, HPAI restrictions by state are meant to be lifted 90 days after cleaning and disinfection, but China had not been abiding by that provision.

THE 2020 REGIONALIZATION AGREEMENT: It has been reported that APHIS has confirmed that China has agreed to resume the terms of the 2020 Regionalization Agreement. Under that framework, APHIS may submit state closeout reports 90 days after cleaning and disinfection is completed, and China then has 5 days to review and lift restrictions as applicable - providing a more timely and predictable path to restoring access.

WHAT'S NEXT: Twenty-seven states remain under restriction by China. The key broiler-producing states of Georgia, Mississippi, and Missouri have all recently reached the 90-day post-cleaning and disinfection milestone, meaning APHIS closeout reports for those states could be expected soon.

NCC's TAKE: "China is a major market for U.S. chicken, especially paws, and the lifting of export restrictions and the reinstatement of the regionalization framework is a significant development," said NCC President Harrison Kircher. "I want to thank the Trump administration, USTR and APHIS in particular, for their work in holding China to the terms it agreed to. Restoration of access would have a meaningful impact on export volumes of American chicken."