China: ASF situation stable, but the risks persist
Chinese official warns about the risks of another ASF epidemic wave in the country, although the situation is stable at this time. "The epidemic situation is stable, but the risks persist. Recently new strains have emerged with weakened virulence. The symptoms presented are mild, but the incubation period is long and short-term detection is difficult," declared Xin Guochang, head of the livestock department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
In 2018, African swine fever (ASF) decimated the swineherd in the Asian country, which has since been recomposed. In the second quarter of this year, the Chinese produced the largest volume of pork in the last seven years, according to the German bank Commerzbank. Production was 40% higher compared to the previous year, reaching 27 million tonnes in the semester, an increase of 36% compared to the same period in 2020.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, abattoirs slaughtered 22 million pigs in June, an increase of 66% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the increase in these figures has created a shock wave in the market, pork prices dropping by 68% in the last 6 months. Currently, China has reduced pork imports to cope with high volumes in domestic production in an attempt to stabilise the prices.
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