September 25, 2020

Philippines confirms new African swine fever outbreaks

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture said new African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks have been confirmed in six provinces, increasing the odds of a higher domestic pork supply shortfall by the end of the year, Reuters reported.

William Dar, Philippines' Agriculture Secretary said the new outbreaks were confirmed in Quirino, Laguna, Quezon, Batangas and Cavite provinces.

He said the government will fund a restocking programme and boost pork imports from disease-free countries to address the pork supply shortfall. The countries were not identified.

Dar said more than 300,000 swine have been culled since ASF was first detected in the country last year.

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture initially estimated a domestic pork shortfall of 121,000 tonnes by end-2020.

According to a projection by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the additional cases could see pork production in the Philippines drop by 20% this year because of ASF.

However, the service said domestic demand is not as high because of COVID-19 related limited operations of food services.

The USDA, citing industry sources, said Philippines' pork supply issues could continue to 2021. The department said the number of culled swine is 3% of the Philippines' total swine herd.

Dar said domestic chicken supply is expected to stay high even during Christmas.

-      Reuters