September 7, 2004

Australian Minister Rejects Pig Meat Concerns

Australia's Federal Agriculture Minister and Member for Wide Bay has fended off criticism by the Government over pig meat imports.

Warren Truss was among speakers at a rural producers' forum yesterday in Gympie, in southeast Queensland, which heard concerns that pig meat imports could place the local pork industry at risk of exotic disease.

Mr Truss says the risk to the Australian industry is now lower than it has ever been.

"Well, the reality is that the new conditions for pig meat imports into Australia are tougher than those that have been in place for the last 13 years," he said.

"We've been bringing in pig meat from Canada and Denmark that have the diseases of concern to the pig industry, without those diseases coming into Australia now for 13 years. So if those conditions were adequate in the past to keep us free of this disease, then new tougher conditions should give an extra level of security for the industry."