[ad_1]
China's efforts to stem the spread of African swine fever hit Friday when the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the discovery of the first case in a wild boar, aggravating a three-month crisis for the world's largest producer of pork.
The country also confirmed the first outbreak in Sichuan Province, in the south-west of the country, the country's main hog breeding region, increasing the risks of major impact on pork supply in the country. months to come.
The disease was discovered in a dead boar in Bastian City, Jilting Province, in northeastern China, announced the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
"This new case means that it will be even more difficult to control African swine fever. How do you control wild boars? "Said Yah Guiding, an analyst at China-America Commodity Data Analytics.
China has banned the transport of live pigs and products from areas infected with African swine fever and neighboring provinces to control the spread of the highly contagious disease and to prohibit the feeding of pigs as waste of the kitchen.
But the virus has continued to spread despite government efforts, with more than 60 outbreaks in 18 provinces since the beginning of August.
According to Reuters calculations, based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Chinese population of wild boar, which can harbor the disease without symptoms, is about 33.5 million.
Local authorities in Jilting inspected neighboring areas frequented by wild boars and thoroughly sterilized all hog farms in the region, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.
According to analysts, the discovery of wild boar has suggested that the virus could have been introduced into China by animals from other countries.
China has blamed the spread of diseases feeding pigs in kitchen waste.
The highly contagious disease was also found on a 40-pig farm in Yibin City, southeastern Sichuan.
"With the new case of Sichuan, all major pork producing provinces have now fallen. The situation is very serious, "said Yah.
China is eliminating about 700 million pigs a year. Sichuan has produced nearly 66 million in 2017, according to official data, more than any other province.
Sichuan is also the country with the highest per capita consumption of pork in China (36 kg), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The provincial authorities in Sichuan last week banned the import of live swine and pork products from other regions to protect the disease.
But Yibin is close to the borders of Sichuan with the Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou Province, which have already reported outbreaks.
Pork prices in Cheng, the capital of Sichuan, are currently the highest in the country, due to strong local demand and the outbreak that followed the infected disease in neighboring provinces.
Prices fell 0.2 yuan on Friday from the previous day at 17.7 yuan (2.55 dollars) per kg, according to data collected by China-America Commodity Analytics.
The discovery of African swine fever in Sichuan occurs less than three months before Lunar New Year celebrations in early February mark the peak period of Chinese pork demand.
There is no cure or vaccine against the disease and the virus can survive for weeks in pork and animal feed.
Reuters
[ad_2]
Source link
