NZPork wants curbs on imports

The Swedish Veterinary Institute (SVA) announced the detection of ASF in seven dead wild boars, the first ever in Sweden, on September 7 and additional positive cases have since been identified. It's not clear how the ASF virus spread to Sweden.

As the disease marches through Europe, NZPork is urging the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to halt pork products imported from trading partners affected by ASF and carry out an urgent assessment of those countries’ biosecurity systems.

Numerous pork-producing countries, including Australia, have already halted Swedish pork imports in the wake of the outbreak.

While ASF does not impact humans, it is highly contagious and fatal for pigs. The animals can become infected in a number of ways, including through eating untreated scraps of imported pork.

NZPork chief executive Brent Kleiss says it is very concerning that New Zealand continues to accept pork from ASF-infected countries when a number of others have halted imports due to the outbreak.

“Armenia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Ukraine, as well as Australia, have all now banned pork imports from Sweden,” Kleiss says.

“Without swift action, we can expect to see even more Swedish pork entering the New Zealand market,” he adds.

“In previous outbreaks, in Belgium and Poland, we saw a sharp rise in pork imports from those countries as other markets closed but our own border remained open to these products.”

Kleiss says MPI has previously cited the strong risk assessment conducted on imports and the low risk posed by the goods and their origins as a reason for not reviewing biosecurity measures for imported pork.

“However, the risk has clearly changed. The landscape is vastly different since this risk calculation was last done. Pork is now arriving in greater volumes from different countries, many of which were not afflicted with diseases like ASF or Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) when the initial assessments were conducted,” he explains.

“We need to bring a halt to pork being imported by ASF countries and for the Government to check those countries with ASF have acceptable protocols in place.”