China will test live pigs for ASF before transportation
1% of the pigs transported between the Chinese provinces will be tested for ASF and other 4 major diseases, announced the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The African Swine Fever (ASF) virus is now present in every province in the country and official data shows that 26% of the pig herd was culled or slaughtered due to the situation.
Analysts are expecting a herd contraction up to 70% (worst case scenario) and the demand for pork to increase substantially in the Chinese market. Beginning July 1st China was to begin testing meat at slaughterhouses and out of cold storage for ASF.
However, "a lot of the pigs thought to have died or been destroyed have in fact moved into the food stream. Along with that many Chinese producers faced with the likelihood of contacting ASF have opted to liquidate placing even more pork into the system. The consensus is they aren’t going to find any pork meat infected. They need the pork!", believes Bob Fraser, representative of Canada's Genesus Inc.
Retail pork prices reached 26.45 yuan/kg (€ 3.42) by the end of June, up 33% year-on-year and imports of pork, beef and poultry have increased in the second quarter. With these new biosecurity measures adopted by the Chinese authorities, prices could increase further due to restrictions applied to the farms already affected by the disease.
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