Estonia reports further ASF outbreaks in large pig farms
In Estonia, the crisis in pig farming due to African swine fever (ASF) is escalating. As the Estonian Agricultural and Food Administration (PTA) announced last week, the virus has been detected on two more farms in the country. According to the report, one of the cases affected a separate farrowing house belonging to the country's largest pig farm, EKSEKO. According to the responsible authority, 27,000 animals must be culled on this farm alone. The second outbreak occurred on a farm with approximately 1,500 pigs.
The outbreak in the EKSEKO pig farm, in particular, represents a severe blow to the Estonian pig breeding industry. At the end of July, approximately 280,000 pigs were kept throughout the country. According to the PTA, EKSEKO's breeding pigs provide around 45% of Estonia's total pig production with young animals. In Estonia, almost 55,000 pigs have already been culled this year. This means that the small Baltic country has already lost about a fifth of its entire pig population. In addition, ASF has now been diagnosed in 125 wild boars.
"Our primary task is to ensure the survival of pig farms ," said Estonian Agriculture Minister Hendrik Johannes Terras. Those farms whose entire herds were destroyed must now be helped to rebuild their herds. He is committed to ensuring that funds are made available from the state budget for the purchase of new young animals.
Brazil and Mexico strengthen health and trade partnership at seminar on WHO-based decisions
The second edition of ABPA's INTERNATIONAL ROAD SHOW 2025 highlights the role of science and cooperation in food security and predictability in trade.
Brazilian and Mexican authorities, leaders of the agri-food sector and importers participated in the seminar “Mexico-Brazil: Animal Protein – Decisions based on the WHO for food security”, the second edition of the INTERNATIONAL ROAD SHOW 2025, promoted last Thursday (28/08) by the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil).
Held as part of the Brazilian presidential mission to Mexico City last week, the event was part of the bilateral agenda to promote protein trade on a technical basis, guided by transparency and aligned with the international standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (WHO).
The seminar was attended by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin; Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Carlos Fávaro; Minister of Planning and Budget Simone Tebet; President of ApexBrasil Jorge Viana; and Brazilian Ambassador to Mexico Nedilson Jorge. Also present were representatives from the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SEDAR), the National Service of Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality of Mexico (SENASICA), COMECARNE, CAMEBRA, and ANETIF, as well as Mexican business leaders and ABPA members.
During the meeting, topics such as sanitary regionalization, the recognition of the states of Acre, Paraná, Rondônia, Rio Grande do Sul as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination proportional decisions, mutual recognition of sanitary status and food safety as a multilateral public policy were discussed, with a focus on the internalization of the WHO guidelines by importing countries.
"Mexico is a strategic partner of Brazil, with strong institutional ties and significant potential for expanding trade in meat, eggs, and poultry genetics. By discussing health decisions from the WHO's perspective, we provide greater predictability to trade and greater security for consumers," emphasized ABPA President Ricardo Santin.
In 2024, Mexico was the 9th largest destination for Brazilian chicken meat, with 191 thousand tons exported and US$ 403 million in revenue.
The seminar in Mexico follows the first edition of the Road Show, held in the Philippines, and precedes new actions planned in strategic markets such as China, the European Union, South Africa, Chile, Malaysia, Peru, Canada and Saudi Arabia.
The INTERNATIONAL ROAD SHOW 2025 is part of the program of actions of the sectoral project developed by ABPA and ApexBrasil for the global promotion of the brands Brazilian Chicken, Brazilian Pork, Brazilian Egg, Brazilian Breeders and Brazilian Duck.
Spain is strengthening its position as a safe and competitive supplier to the Chinese market, wit...
The Brazilian company Master Agroindustrial (subsidiary of the Spanish Group Vall Companys), a sp...
Cattle population trends The UK cattle population stood at 9.06 million head as of 1 December 20...
