Foot and mouth disease: Australia bans German dairy and beef products

Germany’s foot and mouth outbreak is creating waves across the agricultural world. Here’s how it impacts Australian farmers.

Australia has banned German dairy and some meat products from import following a case of foot-and-mouth disease near Berlin.

German authorities last week announced the country’s first outbreak of FMD in more than three decades, after detection in a herd of water buffalo in the Brandenburg region.

The disease hits cloven-hoofed livestock including cattle, pigs, sheep and goats but poses no direct danger to humans.

Great Britain, Mexico and South Korea have joined Australia in issuing dairy and meat bans, as German authorities work to contain the spread of FMD through livestock culls and the closure of trade fairs and Berlin Zoo.

National Farmers Federation vice president John Hassell said primary producers were naturally supportive of any measures which maintained Australia’s biosecurity.

“Any measures which protect ourselves from an incursion of this kind has to be a good thing,” the WA farmer said.

“As an island nation, we have that higher geographic protection compared to countries with land borders, but that has to be maintained through proper biosecurity measures — either via seaports or airports.”

German cheese is set to be the main product hit by the FMD ban, with Australia importing more than 2200 tonnes last financial year. Much of it is destined for specialty stores, food markets and restaurants.

A wood bison is seen at the closed Tierpark zoo on January 13, 2025 in Berlin. The Tierpark, as well as Berlin's second zoo the Zoologischer Garten, are closed due to the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in a farm in the eastern federal state of Brandenburg.

A Dairy Australia spokeswoman said the German FMD incursion had the potential to have a significant impact on the global dairy trade.

“However it is too early to predict what this might look like,” she said.

“The outbreak poses no immediate threat to Australian dairy due to the strict quarantine and biosecurity regulations protecting Australia from disease incursion, however it is a timely reminder to all farmers to ensure their on-farm biosecurity plans are up to date.

“This includes maintaining a visitors log, requiring all visitors to decontaminate footwear and excluding any visitors that have visited or originated from a country where FMD is present from their farm for at least seven days after arrival.”

In a recent alert, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry warned personal consignments of dairy and beef-based foods from Germany will be confiscated upon arrival into Australia.

Meat and Livestock Australia were contacted by The Weekly Times for comment.