April 19, 2011

Russia will require US$355 million to eradicate swine fever

Russia will need RUB10-12 billion (US$355-US$425 million) and seven years to wipe out the rapidly spreading African swine fever (ASF), according to the country's chief veterinarian.

Nikolai Vlasov, who is also deputy head of the Russian animal and plant watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, said that the watchdog had proposed a programme to eradicate the pig killer, which has to be approved by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"Either we will have this programme, or we will have ASF," Vlasov told reporters. However, he did not say when implementation of the plan could start.

He said since the start of the year 17,000 pigs had either died from ASF in Russia or had to be culled. Last year, some 60,000 pigs had to be culled or died of ASF, a viral disease is not a threat to people but is lethal to pigs and has no medical cure.

Vlasov said that he saw no threat to medium or large pig breeding farms, which were well protected against ASF and other diseases. However, small farms could be affected.

Russia's output of pork is expected to rise to 2.4 million tonnes this year from 2.3 million in 2010. Nearly half of this volume is produced by small farms.

The plan proposes isolating the south from the rest of the country by a 200km wide zone and clearing it of pigs and wild boars in six months, Vlasov said.

The owners will not be allowed to buy new pigs, but they will be allowed to export meat southwards and the government will help farmers breed other animals not susceptible to ASF.

Once cleared, the area will be subject to a quarantine period, after which pigs and boars will be gradually re-introduced. The pig-free zone will then be slowly shifted further south and within seven years will reach the border.

ASF, which was confirmed for the first time in Russia in 2007, has been detected mainly in the south of the country, but this year, outbursts were registered at military facilities in the north-west.