April 28, 2009

 

Global pork import rules tighten as swine flu persist

Governments across the world are considering tightening rules on pork imports as the deadly outbreak of swine flu continues, killing at least 103 people in Mexico.

 

The bans of pork imports have raised the prospect of the disease to add a further protectionist blow to sagging world trade.

 

According to US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) spokesman, Joe Schuele, Russia has banned imports of all meat not treated thermally from Mexico, Texas, California and Kansas, and raw pork imports from eight other US states, Central America and the Caribbean.

 

Schuele said China, the world's largest pork consumer, also banned imports of live pigs and pork products from Mexico, Texas, California and Kansas, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is considering banning imports of pork products from Mexico and the US.

 

He said that the Philippines also banned US and Mexican pork, while Kazakhstan banned imports from areas with confirmed cases, and Serbia banned pork from all of North America.

 

He added that the trend is concerning as some of the markets are not large importers of US pork.

 

He said Russia - a major market for US pork - exports can continue from unaffected states, but officials were worried the ban may extend to beef, which would hurt shipments from major beef-shipping states of Kansas and Texas.

 

According to a spokesman for the US National Chicken Council, Russia's ban did not apply to US poultry exports.

 

Schuele said exporters have also seen increased inspections of shipments, which could slow trade.

 

The latest restrictions will add to those concerns, in particularly the G20 group of leading and emerging countries which repeated a call this month to its members not to raise trade barriers.

 

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Thursday (Apr 23) that nine out of the 20 nations - including Russia and the US - had taken or considering measures to restrict trade in the face of the economic crisis.

 

In addition to the deaths in Mexico, suspected cases have also been identified in France, Spain, North America and New Zealand, prompting calls for quarantines, tighter pork import rules and testing of airline passengers.

 

Cases of the flu, which has components of classic bird, human and swine flu viruses but has not actually been seen in pigs, were also suspected in Britain, France, Italy and Israel.

 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the virus has the potential to become a pandemic and was encouraging countries to do anything they felt could be a precautionary against the disease.

 

However, some governments have warned against a panic reaction, warning that farmers could lose millions of dollars if consumers stopped buying pork in the way they boycotted poultry during the bird flu outbreak in 2005.

 

WHO also said the swine flu virus is killed by cooking temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius, in line with general guidance for cooking pork safely.

 

There is currently no vaccine against swine flu and it is unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer.