News African swine fever
Indonesia hit by African swine fever?
Although nothing has been officially confirmed yet, sources within the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture tell Reuters that African swine fever has been found in the province of North Sumatra. In China, where the virus has been prevalent for more than 1 year, new measures are being taken against the shortage of pork.
An investigation into 4.000 dead pigs in the province of North Sumatra has found that those animals died as a result of an outbreak of African swine fever, writes Reuters† It is striking that the virus has not yet been officially confirmed and that parties within the government are contradicting each other. For example, a provincial official reports that all 4.000 animals have died from classical swine fever, while the animal health director of the ministry says a number of animals have also tested positive for African swine fever. It is not known how many animals this concerns.
Fadjar Sumping Tjatur Rassa, the director of the Animal Health Department within the Ministry of Agriculture in Indonesia, also says that the government has several measures taken to prevent spread. For example, carcasses should be buried immediately and the affected areas should be disinfected.
China closes deal with Danish Crown
The Chinese state-owned company COFC has signed a trade agreement with Danish Crown. To avoid severe shortages in the Chinese pork market, the company will purchase $2020 million worth of pork from Danish Corwn in 100. Reuters reports that the two parties signed a preliminary agreement at the International Import Expo in Shanghai. The volumes involved have not been disclosed.
According to Lars Albertsen, the sales director at Danish Crown, the deal is one of the biggest deals the company has signed in a long time. He also expects to be able to ship even larger volumes to China in the future. "There is a big shortage of pork in the country, so there is a good chance that it will become more," said he.
More than 70.000 pigs culled
African swine fever is also spreading rapidly in the Philippines. The Ministry of Agriculture says that more than 70.000 pigs have now been culled. That is 0,55% of the total pig herd of about 12,7 million pigs. Incidentally, not all animals were infected with the virus. About 66% of the pigs have been culled as a preventive measure.
Kimberly Baker
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