April 27, 2023

Indonesia deploys officers to Batam to examine swine samples for ASF

Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture has deployed officers to examine swine samples from a company's farm on Bulan Island in Batam, Riau Island after Singapore confirmed that the African swine fever (ASF) virus was detected in some swine carcasses imported from Bulan, The Jakarta Post reported.

Aris Hadiyono, head of the Tanjung Pinang Quarantine Facility in Riau Islands, said veterinary officials arrived in Batam on Monday from Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatra, and were joined by ministry officials from Jakarta to examine the PT Indo Tirta Suaka farm.

Aris said swine carcasses from the island were mostly exported to Singapore, with only a small amount delivered for local consumption.

He said the ministry will decide whether to stop delivery for local consumption pending veterinary agency examinations.

Following the virus detection, Singapore has halted the import of live swine from the island, with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) stating on Thursday that the carcasses were from a consignment of live swine from Bulan Island and had been removed from the abattoir line.

The PT Indo Tirta Suaka farm has 1,500 hectares of land in Batam and manages 240,000 farm swine. Typically, the company sent between 900 and 1,300 live swine to Singapore at a cost of US$1.5 per kg.

The SFA said live swine from Bulan Island account for approximately 15% of Singapore's total pork supply.

According to the SFA, Singapore's pork supply is "well diversified" with more than 20 sources, including live swine from Sarawak state, Malaysia, and chilled or frozen pork from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, and New Zealand.

-      The Jakarta Post