Vietnam says no to pork from countries with African swine fever

By Nguyen Ha   September 14, 2018 | 01:47 am PT
Vietnam says no to pork from countries with African swine fever
Vietnam has banned imports of pork from Hungarian and Polish provinces. Photo by Reuters
Vietnam has banned imports of pork from Hungarian and Polish provinces on concerns over African swine fever outbreaks.

In letters sent to the embassyies of both countries in Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the import of pork from provinces that have been affected by African swine fever will be stopped from September 20.

The ban will stay until the two countries affirm that the localities are free of the African swine fever (ASF) under World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines.

Pork and pork products exported from the provinces before September 20 will still be received in Vietnam, the ministry said.

The ministry has ordered local veterinary agencies to perform ASF checks on these products.

The ban and other precautions are being taken to prevent the contagion of ASF and guarantee public health safety, it added.

Vietnam Customs has also ordered its branches to strictly monitor borders to prevent the import of infected products from 12 countries - China, Hungary, Finland, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Prague, Romani, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine and Zambia.

Customs agencies should prevent and punish illegal import of pork and pork products, the customs department has ordered.

It added that all products must have a quarantine certification from authorities before being imported to Vietnam.

Swine fever was detected in China on August 1 and the country has culled 40,000 pigs since then. Hungary, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Romania are also among the countries affected, alarming governments and pig farmers due the pace at which it has spread.

In China, the world’s largest pork producer, new cases of the disease have been detected nearly every day over vast distances, prompting the government to take strict protective measures including a ban on the use of food waste as pig feed, according to Reuters.

 
 
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