China has banned the import of pigs, pig products and wild boar from Bangladesh, it became the latest country in Asia to report an outbreak of African swine fever to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
Bangladesh confirmed its first case of ASF on December 21 at a farm in the major port city of Chittagong. The outbreak began on November 13 on a farm in Rangamati with 414 susceptible pigs.
According to a report by Reuters, Chinese customs said the ban was put in place to protect the safety of the country’s livestock industry and prevent the introduction of epidemics.
Animal and plant waste that are unloaded from ships, aircraft and other from of transportation vehicles from Bangladesh must be disposed of under the supervision of customs, it said in a statement.
The report adds that farmers in China, who raise about half of the world’s pigs, have ramped up the slaughter of tens of millions of pigs since November as they struggled with high costs, low prices and an outbreak of African swine fever.