Inside Pigs
Less and less African swine fever in the Philippines
After African swine fever (ASF) has caused serious problems in the Philippines since 2019, the situation now seems to be stabilizing more and more. The important export destination for European pork producers expects to be self-sufficient again in just over a year.
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The efforts of the Philippine government seem to be paying off. The country took drastic measures this year to contain the outbreaks. The government declared the outbreak an emergency, making additional funds available to combat ASF and invest in rebuilding the pig herd. The army was even deployed to prevent further spread of ASF.
Fewer outbreaks reported
According to the country's Ministry of Agriculture, ASF is still present in about 22 cities this week. So far, 147 pigs have tested positive in August this year. This number is the lowest in at least a year. A year ago in August, when the ASF outbreak peaked in the Philippines, there were almost 1.800 positive tests.
In addition to the intensive approach to prevent the spread, the country is also investing heavily in the recovery of the pig herd. More than $0,5 billion is available for this. Companies can borrow money from this fund to resume or increase pig production or invest in better biosecurity measures. According to government officials, all this will mean that in 2023 there will again be more pork available than is consumed.
The Philippines was the seventh largest pork importer worldwide so far this year. The country is also an important destination for European exporters. After China, it was even the most important buyer of European pork. In the first half of the year, 185.000 tons of pork were exported to the Philippines, approximately 260% more than last year. Only China purchased more pork, namely 1.693.000 tons.