ARC celebrates 20 years of existence
ARC, the Romanian Meat Producers and Processors Association has celebrated this week 20 years of existence. However, the festive moment was used by its members to share their knowledge and worries in a deep analysis of how the sector must deal with the challenges brought by the ASF outbreak in Romania.
By now, the country is almost "red" due to multiple outbreaks reported in wild boars and domestic pigs, mostly in backyard farms. Only two counties in 41 are free of disease, Suceava and Bistrita-Nasaud, according to the latest information released by the Romanian authorities. The risk of a ban placed by the European Commission (EC) on Romanian pork products is high and leaders of the association have urged authorities to better present the case in front of the EU officials.
"We need the Romanian government to act and support the industry. We have 5 counties with no ASF cases reported in the last 7 months. At least, that region can be placed outside the 'red map' and biosecurity measures can be adopted to prevent the disease to re-appear", believes Dana Tanase, ARC's CEO and vice president of Clitravi.
Still, Romania has to do a lot of work to regain the trust of European partners after a delay of a year and a half in applying any solid measures in fighting the disease. "We've lost a lot on trust, so we have to present a solid plan of measures before making any demand from the EC. I am going to present a plan of action to the Ministry of Agriculture and, after that, we will present it to the European Commission. It's about time for stakeholders in the industry to act together against ASF", mentioned Robert Viorel Chioveanu, head of ANSVSA, the Romanian Veterinary watchdog.
At this point, Romania imports almost 60% of the pork consumed. The losses in the national swine inventory are at 550,000 head and the disease keeps spreading due to a mix of factors that comprises wild animal influenza, human influence and a black market for pigs in the country's rural areas.
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