Will Chinese New Year Lead to More ASF Outbreaks?

The Chinese New Year is celebrated on Tuesday 5 February, a holiday on which a lot of (pork) meat is normally also consumed. Will this lead to further outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF)?

Dirk Pfeiffer, a professor of animal medicine, expects the Chinese New Year to trigger further outbreaks of African swine fever. This is because there is a lot of trade in (pork) meat.

The professor expects that the extra trade in pork increases the risk of the spread of African swine fever, he reports The Telegraph† "The Chinese New Year is mostly about eating with family members. Since a lot of pork is eaten on the holiday, a lot of meat will be transported in the country. This allows the virus to move extra quickly."

The animal disease is spreading quickly. Since the first outbreak in August, more than 100 outbreaks have been reported (spread across the country). Pfeiffer expects this to increase significantly during the Chinese New Year. 

Huge drop in profit
Various pig farms are also noticing the effects of the African swine fever outbreaks; for example, Wens Foodstuff Group Co Ltd. 40% less profit turned. Also Muyuan Foods Co. Ltd. experienced a significant decline in earnings. In addition to African swine fever, the low meat price in the first half of the year also played a major role in the declining profit.

Tim Roetman

Tim Roetman has been working as a junior editor at livestock farming since November 2018 Boerenbusiness† He mainly writes about (price) developments in the pig and dairy market.

t.roetman@boerenbusiness. Nl

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