January 26, 2011

Romania to continue pork exports

Romania will probably resume pork exports in April or May 2011, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Valeriu Tabara on Tuesday (Jan 25).

"Romania is ready to resume pork export. We need to establish units to breed and supply swine meat guaranteeing security and observing European regulations. We are to hold talks with the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority and the farmers to speed up this partitioning activity, so that the export should be resumed in April-May at the latest," Tabara said.

The minister explained that a national partition is necessary for a fast isolation of the possible focus of infection, which is not easy, considering that 'it is hard to stop raising pigs in our own sheds, and then there is the hunting issue.'

The Minister of Agriculture said he received the proposal from the swine breeders to block the pork import.

During our morning talks, the swine breeders demanded that we should block the imports. Romania joined the EU and must comply with some rules.