SAG sets new sanitary requirements for importing frozen bovine semen

The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) has established new sanitary requirements for the importation of frozen bovine semen into Chile and repealed the regulation in effect since 2013. The measure was formalized through exempt resolution No. 10,523, signed on October 26, 2026, by the National Director of the service, Domingo Rojas Philippi, and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile on Monday, November 9, 2026 (CVE 2895826).

The end of a regulation in effect for over a decade

The provision, issued by the National Directorate of SAG, under the Ministry of Agriculture, expressly repeals exempt resolution No. 5,618 of 2013, which set the sanitary requirements for the importation of frozen bovine semen. According to the recitals of the text, semen is an animal-origin commodity of high zoosanitary risk because it is used directly on animals of a susceptible population.

The agency justified the update based on the need to maintain Chile’s Adequate Level of Protection in accordance with the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization, and to align national regulation with the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

The new regulation will enter into force six months after its publication, meaning in May 2027, providing importers, genetics centers, and livestock farmers with an adaptation period.

Centers of origin and donors under control

The text requires that the semen be collected, treated, and stored in an artificial insemination center that complies with chapter 4.6 of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code, is authorized by SAG to export to Chile, and only admits animals from premises without sanitary restrictions in the last 24 months.

Regarding the donor bulls, specific conditions are established by disease:

• Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia: country or zone recognized as free by WOAH since birth or during the previous six months.
• Epizootic hemorrhagic disease and bluetongue: absence of clinical signs and residence in a free zone, a farm protected against vectors, or negative results in serological tests or agent identification.
• Foot-and-mouth disease: previous three months in a free country, zone, or compartment, with or without vaccination, and storage for at least one month in the country of origin.
• Contagious nodular dermatitis: previous 28 days in a free zone or 60 days in a center without cases, with vaccination or a negative PCR diagnosis.
• Rift Valley fever: previous 14 days in a free zone or vaccination and negative tests.
• Enzootic bovine leukosis: herd free at the time of collection or two negative diagnostic tests, one no less than 30 days before and another no less than 90 days after.

Additionally, animals must be individually identified with official traceability devices, originate from holdings free of brucellosis and tuberculosis, and show no clinical signs of infectious-contagious diseases on the day of admission, the day of collection, nor 30 days thereafter.

Certification, labeling, and border control

Each shipment must be covered by an official health certificate issued in the language of the country of origin and in Spanish. The shipment identification must include the official number, name, and address of the production center, the identification and registration number of the donors, the date of entry into the center, the collection date, the number of doses per donor, and the packaging units.

Semen must be preserved in containers exclusively for export to Chile, with fresh liquid nitrogen and in sterilized or aseptic vials. Once in the country, the importer must maintain a distribution record available to the SAG, and shipments will be subject to the controls determined by the service, with costs borne by the interested party. Infractions will be sanctioned according to DFL RRA No. 16 of 1963, on Animal Health and Protection, through the procedure of Law No. 18,755.

Impact on the sector

The resolution directly affects importers of genetic material, genetics centers, and livestock farmers who rely on frozen semen for the improvement of their herds, who must verify that their foreign suppliers comply with the new requirements before May 2027. The requirement for centers authorized by the SAG and bilingual certification with individual traceability of the bulls raises the sanitary control standard for a key input for national bovine production.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,594, Monday, November 9, 2026, Section I, General Norms, pp. 1-6 (official reference: CVE 2895826).