This is perhaps the most complex autumn that Spanish ranchers can remember. The first was the Blue Tongue, which put the Christmas sheep under control; Then the bird flu, which led to a rise in the price of dozens of eggs (more than 3 euros already), and Now comes African swine fever, to which about twenty countries have closed their markets.
The disease that He has not been seen in Spain for thirty years, It has no risk for human consumption; The economic risk is prominent, focusing on the first astonishing 72 hours after the first cases were confirmed in exports of this meat, which Its value is approximately 9,000 million euros annually.
Countries such as Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom have banned the purchase of this meat. The “disaster” has been saved for the time being thanks to Chinaa country in which 42% of Spanish pork sold goes to third countries and which has decided to continue purchasing meat from the entire Spanish territory, with the exception of those raised in the province of Barcelona because this is where the outbreak was detected.
But not only is it moving quickly to try to protect foreign trade, which has become unstable after one hundred export certificates were withheld. Another fear appears in the mirror that usually accompanies rapidly spreading animal diseases and deaths, as in: Production declines sharply and this causes sharp increases in prices.
We’ll have to wait and see the effect. Currently, outbreaks of the disease have occurred in wild boar and production has not been affected, however An eye on supply and demand Because – as Agriculture Minister Luis Planas has already admitted – it has a role to play if larger purchases are made in anticipation of problems.
We have already seen this with bird flu, for example, which forced the slaughter of 2.5 million chickens, which in turn strained the supply of eggs due to expectations of reduced production. In the case of swine fever, the priority is: He prevented it from expanding and striking what had become a “refuge” of Spanish houses.
Because the pig Meat became the least expensive last year. Its price rose by 1.6% year-on-year, compared to an increase of 17.8% in the same period for beef, 7.7% for lamb, or 3.7% for chicken, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics.
China crisis, great example
It is enough to see the devastation caused by swine fever in other countries to understand this concern. A great example is China, where the 2018 outbreak forced sacrifices Production decreased by 30% During that year and the following, prices rose significantly.
It is the situation that in our country, with great tension in prices in the shopping cart, He tries to avoid it at all costs. This is evident in the speed with which the meetings with the sector took place and the appearance of Agriculture Minister Luis Planas, who provided information about the situation last Saturday and this Monday.
All because the unrest in the field reached the maximum. Swine fever was discovered last weekend in wild boars, however Their large size in Spain raises concerns among livestock farmers It’s only a matter of time before he jumps into the pigs.
The president of the National Association of Large-Scale Cattle Breeders (Anggex), Felipe Molina, has warned about this. From the origin in Catalonia, where the public jurisdiction fears over the $3,000 million annual exports registered by the community, in the Spanish pastures, they are already on alert.
“Swine fever means the same thing as bird flu, and we are very afraid of that If an infected animal appears on a farm, the entire farm must be euthanized.. The same thing happens with pigs, Molina warned.
In fact, Andalusia has already announced the establishment of a working group Customized To increase monitoring and protection of the sector, which in this region adds $308 million annually to exports.
Planas Express Meeting
Thus, Planas insisted on Monday that they are closely monitoring the situation to prevent its “possible spread.” “This is an issue that affects the whole of Spain.”The minister stressed, although the outbreak is currently limited to the province of Barcelona.
However, the two official positives so far have occurred there Several additional samples are already being studied In the reference laboratory for these cases, the Algeti laboratory, without being able to rule out new positives.
This is to ensure that the expansion that occurred in recent hours is avoided 117 UME soldiers have been deployed in Cataloniawhich carries out decontamination and capture management tasks supported, among other means, by drones.
“The reaction is immediate and the sector is adopting all biosafety measures,” Planas insisted, believing that given the spread of the disease throughout the European Union, it was almost expected that cases would appear in our country.
And the prices? The Minister believes that it is too early to talk about this matter. He pointed out that food security now rules, and “there should not be any impact, although the elements of supply and demand play a logical role.”
He concluded: “We are not there yet and I hope we are not there, but everything must continue.”