September 6, 2007

China reports more pork smuggling cases from Vietnam

High pork prices in China are spawning more smuggling cases of pork being smuggled from Vietnam into China, the official Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday (Sep 5).  

Chinese police in the southern region of Guangxi, bordering Vietnam , have seized more than 400 pigs that were smuggled into the country since Aug, the news agency said.

Xinhua said the region's border police have launched campaigns since Aug to crackdown on smuggling, which has become more serious as China's pork prices rose.

All the smuggled pigs were destroyed, authorities said.

Although China's pig population has been hit by blue-ear disease, there have also been cases of pigs in Vietnam similarly infected.

Authorities worry that diseased pork would be brought into the country by smugglers looking for a quick profit.