African swine fever spreads in Poland; Polish pork rejected by China suspected of being diverted to Taiwan

The Dragon Boat Festival has just passed, and the tight situation of domestic pork supply falling short of demand appears to have eased, but affected by the porcine epidemic diarrhea outbreak earlier this year that caused a large number of piglet deaths, agricultural authorities estimate that from after the Dragon Boat Festival to the Zhongyuan Festival period, the domestic pig shortage will reach its peak. To stabilize domestic pig prices, the Council of Agriculture has approved special imports of frozen pork, but some industry insiders have alleged that unscrupulous vendors may have shipped Polish frozen pork rejected by China through a third location into Taiwan.

Because Poland saw an outbreak of "African swine fever" in mid-January this year, its exported pork products have been banned from entry by multiple countries including China, Japan and Russia. Some pig farmers have criticized the import of Polish frozen pork as tantamount to throwing open the door to disease prevention, which would expose Taiwan's pig farming industry to a higher risk of foreign animal disease. If African swine fever were inadvertently introduced into Taiwan, the economic losses could exceed the NT$170 billion in losses from the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in ROC year 86

Although the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine has repeatedly stressed that it will strictly control the situation and will not let rejected Polish frozen pork come to Taiwan, when pig farmers heard that the Council of Agriculture was importing frozen Polish pork to stabilize pig prices, and that some industry insiders even alleged that Polish frozen pork rejected by China might be entering Taiwan, they all said this was tantamount to throwing open the door to disease prevention, and they worried about the impact on the domestic pig farming industry and consumer food safety.

Lai Ping-chou, chairman of the Taichung City Pig Farming Association, said that African swine fever still has no vaccine for prevention and control, nor any veterinary drug that can treat it. Poland has been declared an epidemic area, and the government absolutely must not muddle-headedly allow Polish frozen pork rejected by China to be imported, otherwise if African swine fever is inadvertently brought in, the impact on Taiwan's pig farming industry will far exceed that of foot-and-mouth disease.

Pig farmer Chang Sheng-ming, who once worked with the Changhua County Government to promotethe Changhua healthy pig brand, said that if Taiwan inadvertently introduces African swine fever because of imported Polish pork, it will cause severe impacts not only on Taiwan's pig farming industry, but also on consumer food safety and Taiwan's overall economy.

Chang Sheng-ming said that when Taiwan saw an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in pigs in ROC year 861700 hundred million, and if African swine fever breaks out, overall economic losses will only be higher than those of foot-and-mouth disease. The Council of Agriculture should strictly guard disease prevention and quarantine for imported pork, and investigate whether the situation alleged by industry insiders, in which Polish frozen pork rejected by China was diverted into Taiwan's market, has occurred, and fully fulfill its responsibility to guard Taiwan's local agriculture.