Sarawak bans import of live pigs, pork products from China, Europe over ASF fear

KUCHING: Sarawak, like the rest of Malaysia, bans the import of live pigs and pork product from China and European countries with immediate effect due to the outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF).

However, Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) Sarawak director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud, who confirmed this, said this would not affect the supply of pork to meet local demands.

“We have enough local supply,” he said when contacted yesterday.

He also said he had informed Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, who is Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, regarding the matter. There have been public concerns about the ban after a letter issued by DVS Sarawak to importers of meat had gone viral on social media.

In the letter dated Dec 26, and signed by Dr Stephen Gabriel from the State Veterinary Authority, it said the import of live pigs and pork products from China and European countries was banned due to widespread outbreak of ASF in those countries. It also said pork products – either smoked, salted, soaked in brine, as sausages or other means of processing – were included in the ban.

It added that the DVS would continue to check on shops and other premises to ensure that these pork products would not be sold to the public.

Meanwhile, both Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian and federal Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Chong Chieng Jen refused to comment on the matter, citing that it was under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry.

It was reported in a national English daily on Friday that Malaysia was stepping up its enforcement to prevent ASF virus from spreading to the nation following an outbreak in other countries.

As such, there would be temporary ban on pork products from six countries, including China, following the virus outbreak; instead of only banning import of live pigs and frozen pork. The temporary ban now includes products such as canned pork, sausage casings, sliced pork, smoked ham and pork enzymes from China, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine.

The national daily reported that it would not lead to shortage of pork delicacies especially for the coming Chinese New Year, as Malaysia does not import live pigs and frozen pork from China where the major outbreak is located.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Sim Tze Tzin was quoted as saying that the ban expansion came after South Korea and another country discovered processed pork products that contained the ASF virus last Tuesday.

“This is to further protect our country from ASF, and we are monitoring the situation very closely. Processed products are not supposed to have these viruses but, somehow, they were detected, so we have to do more,” he was quoted as saying.

He also said there should also be no shortage of roasted suckling pig, a popular dish among the Chinese during celebrations and festive seasons. This is because suckling pigs are usually obtained from Vietnam, which borders China. Its capital, Hanoi, is about 1,000km away from Guangdong Province, where some 2,000 pigs had been culled. Although Vietnam was not an infected area, Sim said the DVS and the ministry were monitoring the situation closely.