ASF may delay PH plans to export more pork products – Piñol

The possible entry of African Swine Fever (ASF) may hamper the country's plan to export more pork products overseas, especially now that agriculture trade negotiations may soon take place between Philippines and Singapore.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said that livestock is one of the most "robust" subsectors within the agriculture sector right now and the government is banking on it to drive the country's overall export receipts.

Based on a data from Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the country's local hog industry can raise 28 million heads every year with a combined value of around 1240 billion.

Piñol said this amount is more than enough to cater to local demand for pork. To keep it that way, he said the country must "guards its status as a hog disease-free."

"ASF could be devastating to the hog industry of the country, especially now that we are hoping to resume our negotiations with Singapore for [the export of] our pork products. In fact, the AVA [AgriFood and Veterinary Authority] of Singapore is supposed to come here to inspect if we are at risk of getting ASF," Piñol told reporters on Monday.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier appealed to local producers and consumers to buy pork-based products produced by local farmers instead of importing.

This was amid the growing threat of ASF, a disease that have already killed thousands of pigs in at least eight countries, including China, which has the largest hog population in the world.

"This will be the first time I will make this appeal to Filipino consumers, meat importers, government policy makers and agriculture stakeholders because we are facing a grave danger which could destroy the Philippine livestock industry," Piñol said.

No cases of ASF had been detected in the Philippines so far. But all the entry points in the Philippine already tightened security versus the potential entry of the virus.

The threat of the ASF is being monitored by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) since last year. It has been described by experts as a "contagious, untreatable and often fatal virus is sweeping the global pig population – and future mutations could affect humans."