News African swine fever
African swine fever on 9 farms in South Korea
The number of cases of African swine fever in South Korea has risen to 17 since the first outbreak on September 9. Although no outbreaks have been detected in recent days, the government has decided to tighten the measures.
Since the first outbreak of the virus 8 more cases have been found in South Korea, bringing the total to 9 now. So far, the disease has been confined to Gyeonggi and Incheon provinces, which border North Korea. In addition, the government reports that it has culled approximately 29 pigs since Sunday, September 67.000, although this is reportedly rising to 94.000 pigs.
The large number of pigs culled is partly due to the fact that all pigs within a radius of 3 kilometers around an infected company have been culled. In addition, the South Korean government has decided to cull the 38.000 pigs on the island of Ganghwa (in Incheon), as 5 of the 9 outbreaks were found here.
Suspected outbreak
It was suspected that a tenth outbreak had been found, but investigations have shown that this is not the case. In that case, it concerned a pig farm in South Chungcheong, one of the largest pig regions in the country, with 4.000 pigs. In addition, this company maintains 12 other farms within a radius of 500 kilometers, which together keep about 34.000 pigs.
If this company had tested positive for African swine fever, it would have had major consequences for the 62 other pig farms within a 3 kilometer radius. These 62 companies jointly keep approximately 86.000 pigs, all of which would have had to be culled. It was therefore a great relief for the government that the tests were negative.
Although no new outbreaks have been found in recent days, the ministry has decided to tighten the quarantine measures. For example, the main roads in the country have been disinfected and strict controls are being carried out on all pig farms along these roads. In addition, vehicles involved in the livestock industry in Gyeonggi Province are not allowed to leave the region.
Rising prices
African swine fever outbreaks are also driving up pig prices in South Korea, just like in China en Bulgaria† The average wholesale price was 29 South Korean won per kilo of pork (€2.273 per kilo) on Sunday, September 1,73. This is about 13% more than the price on September 16, the day before the first breakout. In Seoul, the price even rose by 38% to 5.907 won per kilo of meat (€ 4,50 per kilo).
In addition, the supermarkets report that the consumption of pork last week was about 9% lower than in the previous week. It is striking that the sales of beef and chicken increased by more than 20% during that period. This sentiment is also visible in China, where there is also African swine fever.
Kimberly Baker
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