Pigs are seen at a backyard farm on the outskirts of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China, September 5, 2018.
Checkpoints, sniffer dogs and strict import bans have been deployed in a desperate bid to control its spread. Beef and poultry exports are also on the rise as suppliers scramble to fill the deficit in a region where pork is the staple protein – fried, grilled, boiled and eaten by tens of millions each day in noodle bowls and rice dishes.And America is also soon expected to feel the pinch – likely around Christmas when people buy holiday hams.
His herd of 36 was culled after swine fever was detected at his backyard farm on the outskirts of Hanoi.“We relied on income from the pigs for my kids’ schooling,” the 50-year-old told AFP after his animals were killed and dumped into a burial pit. All three countries have bumped up fines for smuggling in pork products – up to US$8,400 in South Korea – and Japan has deployed sniffer dogs and quarantine stations at major airports.
“It’s spreading like wildfire in Asia because… the pig is the garbage truck of Asia,” said Simon Quilty, an independent meat and livestock analyst based in Australia.Experts predict it could take anywhere from two to 10 years for the virus to be fully contained in Asia, while fears are mounting of a global scourge embedding in farms with poor biosecurity standards and wild boar populations.