The pig sector in Spain has been witnessing a state of anticipation since the Ministry of Agriculture reported yesterday that African swine fever had returned to our country, 31 years after the last case was discovered. The department was headed by Luis Planas … Notice between Tuesday and Thursday night from veterinary services in General State of Cataloniawho discovered two wild boars positive for the ASF virus (its Spanish acronym) in Bellaterra (Barcelona), where they were found dead on November 26.
It is a non-animal disease, meaning it does not pose any danger to humans. However, the mortality rate for pigs is around 100% in many cases, and it goes without saying what this means in a country that is the world’s fourth largest producer of pork and the world’s largest exporter. European UnionIts sales abroad in 2024 amounted to 8,783 million euros. At the moment, the main interest of the sector is focused on the reaction of our main trading partners, because for some countries one case is enough to prevent imports, given that it is a highly contagious virus. For now – the situation could evolve if more cases are detected – Spanish companies can continue exporting within their territory European UnionBecause this applies the principle of regional structuring, which limits the closure of the affected area. In this case, it is a 20-kilometre radius around the area where the two bodies were found, in a wooded area near the municipality of Bellaterra.
However, as for non-EU countries, the story is different, and it is not a secondary issue because there are 3,687 million euros at stake, which is the value of Spanish pork sales outside the EU in 2024. As we explained yesterday Emilio García Moro, Director General of Health Follower Agricultural Food Production and Animal Welfare of the Ministry of AgricultureThe problem is that not all governments apply the principle of regionalization in the same way, and it is nothing more than an interpretation you make of the area at risk.
As a precautionary measure and to reassure trading partners, the government yesterday suspended all export certificates to third countries, although the intention is to gradually grant them again in the coming hours. If the negotiations go well, of course. Currently, Japan, which is the destination of 14% of non-EU exports in this sector, has announced that it will suspend all imports. In the case of China, which is the most worrying country because it monopolizes 40% of our country’s pork purchases outside the European Union – for about 1,000 million euros annually – agriculture says it is still waiting for a response. The government hopes that the Asian giant will benefit from the trade protocol it signed with Spain a few weeks ago during a visit to Spain. King Philip VI to Beijing, under which he committed to implementing the regionalization of the provinces; This means that farms across Barcelona province are at risk of not accessing the Chinese market for a year.
What is certain, however, is that there are 39 farms that will not be able, for at least 12 months – which is determined by Spanish legislation – to transport their animals or sell their meat. These are farms located within a 20 km radius Bellaterrawhich has been protected since yesterday before Generalitat.
Imprisonment in Barcelona
As previously mentioned, it all started on Tuesday, when the Catalan government received notification of the discovery of two dead wild boars that had tested positive for the ASF virus. Once the result is confirmed in Central Veterinary Laboratory in Getty (Madrid), a strict protocol has been activated, starting with a 20-kilometer perimeter, which the Catalan authorities will subject to “secret” monitoring, in the words of García Moro. Specifically, the purpose of this discretion is to prevent animals from fearing the comings and goings of customers and technicians and thus spreading the disease further. Furthermore, within that area is a second ring that will be completely contained – with roads and fences closed – so that wild boars do not leave the area.
They are extraordinary measures because, as previously presented, it is a disease that has the potential to put a key industry of our economy under control. Moreover, in Spain, the virus evokes a disastrous past.
The last serious outbreak in our country occurred in the 1960s, when the government did not yet have a national plan to eradicate the disease (it did not have one until 1985). In fact, this is why the World Health Organization banned the export of Spanish pork for three decades, a fact that had economic consequences that were impossible to measure.