African Swine Fever (ASF). This word has dominated the talk of the international pork market in recent months. The outbreak in China has already led to the slaughter of 3.338 million pigs, according to the FAO. As of May 30, 504,000 pigs had been reported, which demonstrates the worsening of the disease. China had the largest herd in the world, with a market share of 51% or 54 million tons per year.
What is PSA?
African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious disease, caused by a virus composed of double-stranded DNA, belonging to the Asfarviridae family. The disease does not affect humans, being exclusive to domestic pigs, wild boars and crosses with domestic pigs.
The initial symptoms of the disease are mainly based on the observation of clinical signs of hemorrhagic disease. However, the use of laboratory techniques, such as molecular ones, are essential to confirm the diagnosis. It spreads through oral or nasal routes of dissemination and exposure and contamination can also occur through tick bites, skin scarification, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or intravenous injection.
It is a disease that must be notified to official national and international animal health control bodies, with the potential for rapid dissemination and significant socioeconomic consequences, estimated at around 5.5 billion dollars in Brazil alone. Among the problems it causes in pigs are injuries to the spleen, lymph nodes, kidneys and heart. In the presence of an outbreak, animals are slaughtered and carcasses destroyed. Complete cleaning and disinfection of the facilities is also essential. Facilities must not receive new animals for at least 40 days.
There is still no vaccine against the disease. China said it is already carrying out tests for a vaccine and will accelerate the progress of a pilot and promote clinical trials. The process is being led by the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute.
The only way to prevent the disease is to prevent the herd from becoming positive, therefore, a biosecurity program must be well established and applied on farms.
Understand the history of PSA advancement
In China, the first cases appeared in August 2018, but the disease virus is old. ASF emerged in Africa, in wild animals in the East and South of the Continent, in the 20th century. In 1920 domestic pigs in Kenya were reported to have the disease. At the end of the 1950s, it arrived in Portugal through food leftovers from aircraft containing contaminated by-products. From there it spread to other European countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Holland, Belgium and Malta and to South America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, the virus was identified in subsistence pigs, in Paracambi, Rio de Janeiro, in 1978.
ASF has been eradicated in all of these countries, including Brazil, which is considered free.
The Chinese province of Liaoning recorded the first case and increased inspections of pig farms and markets, strengthening transport monitoring. The provincial government also increased enforcement and ordered the closure of the live market and slaughterhouses. China slaughtered about 913 pigs near Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, and banned the transport of pigs from affected areas following the outbreak.
A second case was reported at a food company's slaughterhouse in the Zhengzhou region of Henan province. The government intensified control in the regions.
In the third outbreak of the disease in the country, 88 pigs died in the city of Lianyungang. Emergency measures, including animal culling and disinfection, placed the outbreak in Haizhou district.
Cases began to be reported in Romania, where around 100,000 pigs were slaughtered. In Bulgaria, tests confirmed ASF in pigs and, as a precaution, all 23 animals were slaughtered. In Belgium authorities found four infected wild boars.
Across Europe, more than 4,800 cases of the disease in wild and domestic pigs have been reported this year, around 700 more than in 2017.
In Japan, exports of pork and wild boar meat were suspended. There are also cases in the Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
In Brazil, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) determined at the end of September 2018 to reinforce surveillance at ports, airports and borders to reduce the risks of African Swine Fever (ASF) entering Brazil. Animal surveillance and inspection bodies have increased inspections of food and baggage coming from areas affected by ASF. Care was also intensified when issuing authorization to import products such as animal feed that could spread the disease virus.
Pork: Brazil can benefit from ASF cases
Breeders are unanimous in regretting the cases that led to losses for China but also note that Brazilian meat can enter this market. Brazilian pork exports to China grew by 41% in May, with 67.2 thousand tons shipped, according to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA). In revenue there were US$ 143.8 million, an increase of 54.6% compared to the same period last year. China purchased 21.1 thousand tons in May, equivalent to 31.9% of total shipments.
Vietnam, another market where outbreaks of swine fever were found, increased purchases of pork from Brazil by 7.000% in May, jumping from 26 tons a year ago to 1.82 thousand tons.
In an interview with Portal Agrolink, the president of ABPA, Francisco Turra, analyzes this scenario. Check out the interview:
Agrolink Portal: What is the current situation of Brazilian animal protein production in relation to production costs and potential for further expansion?
Francisco Turra: The year's outlook began favorably for the production sector, with a good supply of corn and soybeans, in a very profitable scenario. The trade war between China and the USA and the difficulties faced by North Americans in planting (with heavy rains) increased pressure on the supply of inputs, increasing production costs. The impact on the sector, however, was not enough to drastically impact competitive capacity.
Agrolink Portal: with African Swine Fever in China, can Brazilian producers increase foreign sales? Is there already a policy working in this direction? Could this not increase the price on the domestic market?
Francisco Turra: the increase in pork exports is already a reality. Rabobank projections indicate losses of up to 18 million tons of pork, out of a total of 54 million tons produced by the country. Worldwide, 113 million tons of pork are produced. Total international trade amounts to less than 9 million tons. In addition, African swine fever is also present in 15 other countries in Asia and other continents. This situation indicates a highly favorable scenario for the trade of pork, as well as poultry meat – an immediate substitute given the lack of products. In this context, the volume of pork exported to the Chinese market increased by 61% in April, from 9.8 thousand tons in 2019 to 15.9 thousand tons in the fourth month of this year.
Faced with this window of opportunity open for the Brazilian productive sector, both ABPA and the Ministry of Agriculture are committed to expanding Brazil's export capacity to the Chinese market. At the beginning of May, Minister Tereza Cristina led one of the most effective missions ever carried out for the Asian market. Good fruits should emerge from the action, there is great expectation.
Fatally, competition with the international market will increase the domestic price of the product. It will be an important recovery, after a period of relatively low prices.
Agrolink Portal: in relation to health, we have farms with strict issues in both pigs and poultry. In the same way, MAPA laboratories carry out daily control, which pointed out fraud such as weak meat, milk and compensated cheese. How does the association observe this issue? Is Brazil doing well in this regard?
Francisco Turra: The occurrences in Operação Carne Fraca were specific, not generalized, and do not refer to these specific criteria. Our health defense structure is solid, one of the best in the world. The recognition of new states as free from foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination will be a major advance for the sector's exports, as countries such as Japan and South Korea only import products from Santa Catarina, which has this status.
Agrolink Portal: do cases of Classical Swine Fever, even isolated in the Northeast, worry the sector in any way?
Francisco Turra: It is important to highlight that the occurrence took place in a “non-free area” and the area free of classical swine fever declared by the OIE and controlled by Brazil, remains intact and preserved in its health. MAPA and the defense agencies of the affected states are committed to controlling the health situation. Obviously, any health situation raises concerns, but we are confident in the competence to execute the measures implemented by the defense bodies.
Agrolink Portal: we talk a lot about agriculture 4.0 and more recently about poultry farming 4.0. How do small producers fare in this scheme?
Francisco Turra: The small producer is the basis of the Brazilian poultry system, especially in the South Region, where more than 70% of national exports is located. Although considered small, the smaller poultry farmer invests in and follows new technologies to gain in productivity, seeing profitability and cost optimization.
Agrolink Portal: even though it is not the responsibility of ABPA, many goat and sheep producers are betting on the potential of meat that is still little explored. How can this be worked on and generate income and alternatives for poultry and pig producers?
Francisco Turra: It is a fact that there is great potential for sheep and goat farming in Brazil. Although it has improved in recent years, consumption capillarity is still restricted to large centers. And domestic supply is still heavily dependent on imports, especially from Uruguay. These are products with excellent value-adding capacity. One of the ways to positively change this situation would be to carry out actions with consumers, to increase interest in this protein. There are model initiatives in Brazil that serve as a reference. The consumer needs to acquire the habit, and this will essentially happen through the promotion of the product.
Post: Marina Carvejani
Author: Eliza Maliszewski
Source: agrolink
