Wexford pigs bound for South Korea

April 1992

A consignment of 58 pure-bred boars and young sows has been shipped from Wexford to a newly-established farm in South Korea. The Irish pigs will form the foundation stock for the eventual production of 1,000 bacon pigs a week.

This trail-blazing inter-continental deal was made possible by the key intervention of Mr John Browne TD, Minister for Food, who ensured the full co-operation of Department of Agriculture staff and without whose personal commitment the deal would not have succeeded.

The stock was provided by Enniscorthy-based Pig Improvement Associates (PIA), the largest suppliers of high-health breeding pigs in the country, from nucleus breeding farms in Wexford and Carlow. Contact with the Korean customers was made by Newsham Hybrid Pigs Ltd., a Yorkshire-based breeding company. Representatives of the Korean customers visited Ireland earlier this year to inspect the pigs, after which they were placed in quarantine and subjected to rigorous veterinary checks.

The Korean company did not want the pigs to go through England, due to the risk of Blue Ear Disease, so they were flown direct on a Korean Air cargo flight which was specially diverted from Frankfurt to Shannon. Transported by road to Shannon, the pigs were transferred into custom-built timer crates, tailor-made to suit the size of each group, and provided with bedding and water.

Feed was also supplied with the pigs for the 20-hour flight, with touchdowns at Bahrain and Bangkok along the way. On arrival in the Korean capital of Seoul, the pigs were again placed in quarantine, after which they will transfer to their new quarters some 300km south of Seoul.

Mr John Browne TD, Minister for Food, has welcomed the new export business, saying: ‘It goes to show the value of this country maintaining the very highest health standards in our livestock.’