European Pig Meat Sector Threatened by African Swine Fever

African swine fever has reached Continental Europe through the wild boar population and there are now great concerns that the disease could run rife.

The disease has also been reported both in wild boar and on farm in Ukraine.

Previously the disease had been contained within Russia and although there have been concerns and contingency measures put in place in countries bordering Russia, there has been great concern across Europe about the damage a potential outbreak would do to the European pig industry and pig meat exports.

Already Russia has blocked all pig and pig meat exports from Europe together with other partners in the Commercial Union - Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The ban has been because the export certificates state that the EU is free from African swine fever and do not include regionalisation clauses.

While the European Commission is this week endeavouring to negotiate regionalisation clauses - quarantining Lithuania and allowing exports from other EU countries.

However, the head of Rosselkhoznador, Sergey Dankvert, fired a warning shot that this might not be enough, when it was first suggested by the European Commission's DG SANCO Deputy Head Ladislav Miko.

Mr Dankvert said that the information that had been so far provided by the European Commission on monitoring morbidity in wild boars in the other Baltic States and Poland was not sufficient .

And Rosselkhoznador has warned of the potential threat to the entire European pig sector by emphasising the extent of the wild boar population in the neighbouring Baltic states and Poland.

There are an estimated 60,000-65,000 wild boars in Lithuania based on the Lithuanian Veterinary Service data.

There are about 250,000 wild boars in Poland.

According to the FAO data there are about 4,500,000 wild boars in the European Union.

The data show that the wild boar population density is 10 times higher in the Central European countries than in Russia so the risk of rapid virus spreading is higher too.