September 14, 2023

Multiple countries block Swedish pork imports over African swine fever concerns

Several nations, including Armenia, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Ukraine, have implemented import restrictions on Swedish pork due to concerns about the recent outbreak of African swine fever in wild boars within Sweden, Barron's reported.

While the disease has so far been detected only in wild boars, these countries have temporarily suspended Swedish pork imports, despite assurances from the Swedish Meat Industry Association that the pork poses no threat to consumers.

The outbreak has seen seven cases of African swine fever in dead wild boars since September 6, primarily in the vicinity of Fagersta, located approximately 145 km northwest of Stockholm. Although this disease does not affect humans, it is highly contagious and typically fatal for pigs and their wild counterparts. An outbreak of this nature could have devastating consequences for the pork industry.

In 2018, China, the world's largest pork producer, experienced a widespread outbreak of African swine fever, resulting in the culling of millions of pigs to contain the disease's spread.

In response to the outbreak in Sweden, authorities have taken measures to protect public health and limit the potential spread of the disease. Access to forested and wildlife areas covering approximately 1,000 square km around the area where infected wild boars were discovered has been restricted.

The source of the infection's introduction to Sweden remains uncertain, as the nearest known cases were located in Germany, Poland, and the Baltic states. The Swedish National Veterinary Institute (SVA) suspects that human activity may have played a role in the disease's introduction rather than transmission through wild boars.

Denmark, Sweden's neighbouring country and a significant pork producer, has expressed confidence that the risk of African swine fever spreading to Denmark is low. Danish pork exports account for nearly half of the country's agricultural exports.

Annually, Sweden exports approximately 30,000 tonnes of pork, with around half of this going to European Union (EU) member states. The temporary suspension of imports is expected to result in an annual loss of income amounting to SEK 50 million (~US$4.5 million; SEK 10 = US$0.90) for an industry with an annual revenue of approximately SEK 30 billion (~US$2.6 billion), according to the Swedish Meat Industry Association's managing director Magnus Darth.

-      Barron's