Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis PlanasHe explained this Saturday that African swine fever, which has reappeared in Spain in recent days, does not affect humansBut he acknowledged the economic impact it would have … The sector stressed that it would struggle to limit it “to the maximum extent.”
In the last two days they have appeared in Barcelona Six wild boar carcasses carrying African swine feverThis is something that Spain has not seen since 1994. 20 kilometers have already been fenced in the area where the animals appeared, where there are as many as 39 farms.
In this scenario, Planas appeared at a press conference Convey all the information you have about this episode. The minister explained that of the six cases discovered, only two cases have actually been approved by the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Algeti.
Although he acknowledged the scale of the event, he wanted to send a calm message to the public because the supply of pork is “guaranteed” and there is “no possibility of transmission or infection” to humans.
Next, he asked Every possible precaution towards the productive sector and adopting all necessary measures regarding control Biosecurity to limit what happened and prevent its spread.
It happened in Belgium and Italy
Planas commented during his appearance that the current case is similar to the one that occurred in 2018 in the Ardennes (Belgium) and another in the vicinity of Rome in 2022.
The Minister pointed out that, as happened on these two occasions, from the moment a case of African swine fever was announced, a year must pass for the country to be declared free of swine fever.
Regarding foreign trade, the minister pointed out this This amounts to 8.8 billion eurosOf these, 5.1 billion are exported to the European Union and are not affected by the case that occurred in Barcelona.
Concern for 3.7 billion
but, Another 3.7 billion are exported to third countries with China playing an important role with 1.1 billion The government remains alert about the impact that a resurgence of swine fever cases may have.
The minister added that The 44 countries that have specific health requirements for African swine feverThere are 24 countries that do not recognize the regionality of the product within Spain, but 20 others do – among them China, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam – and have already closed the doors to Barcelona.
“It is the Barcelona province that will be excluded from exports and we are in contact with the Chinese authorities. “I cannot say anything else at this time,” the Agriculture Minister said.
The agriculture director also said that of the 400 export certificates for pork products, a third are currently banned and work is underway to lift the ban “as soon as possible.”
With this panorama, Planas said so The main goal now is to “minimize the economic impact” of the eventEspecially taking into account the role that pigs play in the Spanish economy, where they account for 40% of final livestock production and 17% of final agricultural production. Likewise, Spain is the leading producer in the European Union and third in the world after China and the United States.
Origin unknown
Regarding the beginning of the infection, Planas said that an investigation is being conducted and that it is “very difficult” to get an answer. Among the hypotheses considered could be the movement of wild boars, the consumption of some products that cause the disease by wild boars, or the bringing of wild boars to the areas where the incident occurred to breed.
The minister said that There are no specific numbers about the impact of this episode on countries that have a regional agreement.But she stressed that she would fight “one file after another,” “one country after another,” and “certificate after certificate” to limit “as much as possible” the impact on the sector.
On Monday, Luis Planas will meet with the production sector to analyze the situation On Wednesday there will be a follow-up meeting of the Veterinary Health Alert Network with the attendance of all autonomous communities.
Thus, he sent a message of support to the pork sector and stressed that the government will continue to work to reduce the economic impact of this episode “as much as possible.”