ASF a major risk factor to Chinese pork production

A senior government official in the Philippines says the disease should be treated as a national emergency. Last week, the Chinese government further stepped up efforts to bring African swine fever (ASF) under control. According to the South China Morning Post, among the latest measures are a ban on imports of live pigs and pork products from Malaysia since the first ASF outbreaks have been confirmed in that country. So far this year, there have also been six confirmed ASF outbreaks in domestic pigs in China. After the loss of half of the Chinese pig population to ASF, the Beijing government recently described ASF as a “major risk factor” to the nation’s pork sector. Heavy mortalities unbalanced the pork market, and sent pork prices up sharply, which pushed up inflation for consumers in China. The authorities there have also begun to crack down on the use of fake and unauthorized vaccines of unknown efficacy. In the past week, China’s agriculture ministry has confirmed one new ...