China culls 20,000 pigs as African swine fever outbreak triggers panic
Prices fall with farmers selling pigs for slaughter, fearing the disease – which has no vaccine – could infect their herds after reported Chinese cases
China’s pig cull topped 20,000 animals on Wednesday as officials try to halt an outbreak of deadly African swine fever in the world’s largest pig market, already reeling from a year-long price rout.
Nearly 15,000 hogs had been culled in Lianyungang city in eastern Jiangsu province as of Monday, local authorities said, after another case of the highly contagious disease was found at the weekend, the third in two weeks.
China’s first reported outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF), a disease for which there is no vaccine, have stoked concerns about its spread and potential damage to demand for pork, a staple of the nation’s diet.
National hog prices, which had been recovering from four-year lows struck in May, hit a three-week low at 13.71 yuan (US$1.99) a kilogram on Wednesday and are down 7.2 per cent year-on year, according to consultancy China-America Commodity Data Analytics.
The price fall has added to financial pain for farmers who have been left struggling after a rapid expansion of capacity led to oversupply and sinking prices. At the same time, the US-China trade row has pushed up the cost of livestock feed.
“Everyone is panicking,” said Xie Yingqiang, who has a farm just 40km (25 miles) from the latest case in Lianyungang. “If your pigs get it, there is nothing you can do.”