Asian countries with ASF cull 4 million pigs
Asian countries hit by ASF outbreaks have culled almost 4 million pigs in a bid to stop the disease from spreading. The largest number of pigs slaughter due to ASF was reported in Vietnam, 2,8 million, while China has reported only 1.1 million head. By now, the disease has been reported also in Mongolia, Cambodia, North Korea, and Laos and it will probably affect other countries as smuggling meat is a common practice in the border areas.
In Vietnam, officials have reported large-scale farms being hit by the virus, while analysts are looking with scepticism at data collected from China where the real situation may be more complicated.
32 areas in all the provinces in China have been confronted with ASF outbreaks and one Rabobank assessment estimates that losses in the Chinese swine herd may go from 20% to 70%.
Not only foreign observers are worried about the ASF situation in China but also local investors and consultants.
Edgar Wayne Johnson, a veterinarian who has spent 14 years in China and founded Enable Agricultural Technology Consulting, declared for Reuters that losses may be of 50% at this point and three other executives from producers of vaccines, feed additives and genetics also estimate losses of 40% to 50%, based on falling sales for their companies’ products and direct knowledge of the extent of the deadly disease on farms across the country.
Chinese officials mentioned in June that sow herd in the country declined by 23.9% in May from a year earlier. Pork accounts for more than 60% in meat consumption in the country and a governmental estimate on prices are foreseeing a 70% surge by the end of the year.
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