A group of farmers blames what it called the unlimited and untested importation of pork into the Philippines for the continued spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the country, with the surge sparking fears of a pork shortage.
A GROUP of farmers blames what it called the unlimited and untested importation of pork into the Philippines for the continued spread of African swine fever in the country, with the surge sparking fears of a pork shortage. This has prompted a senior lawmaker on Monday to urge the Bureau of Animal Industry to consider a nationwide immunization drive to contain the killer pig disease.
“Local producers, especially backyard hog raisers, are facing severe difficulties when it comes to ASF protocols; but our ports are open to imported pork where no ASF tests are being conducted,” Cainglet added. “An immunization drive to prevent the reported surge in ASF outbreak from getting worse has now become doable, following Vietnam’s discovery last year and subsequent use of the world’s first vaccine to beat this deadly disease, and the ongoing field trials that local agribusiness companies have already been doing here in our country to check the efficacy of this new drug in the Philippine setting,” he said.
BAI data showed that 54 provinces in the country’s 16 regions have reported ASF outbreaks, the latest being the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which recorded its first case in Maguindanao del Sur.DA Assistant Secretary and spokesman Rex Estoperez confirmed the warning by the National Livestock Program of a possible shortage of over 46,000 metric tons of pork in June, as against the projected demand of 145,849 MT.
“These swine industry players who suffered heavy financial losses after ASF resurfaced in 2019 apparently fear losing more money in the future in the absence of any assurance that ASF outbreaks will be a thing of the past,” he said. “And it seems that the only way to boost their confidence in reinvesting 100 percent in the industry is if the government can shield their pig stocks from future ASF outbreaks by way of an immunization program.
This disease is responsible for a 50-percent drop in the local swine population after ASF resurfaced in the Philippines in 2019 and spread across over 50 provinces by 2022, devastating commercial pig farms and backyard raisers and causing an annual revenue loss of P100 billion for allied industries.
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