Markets

Spanish Hog Cholera (Swine Fever) Update; September 2001

By USDA FAS - After reporting 14 separate outbreaks of Hog Cholera (Classical Swine Fever) in July, 2001 Spanish animal health authorities say that only two outbreaks occurred in August. About 132,000 hogs have been destroyed in the control program since the first outbreak was reported on June 14. With increasing confidence that the this episode of the disease is winding down, the Ministry of Agriculture has loosened its controls on movements of hogs to market.

6 September 2001

4 minute read

Executive Summary

Following the first detection of case of Hog Cholera on June 14, Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture reported nine additional cases during the last half of June and 14 more in July. The outbreak slowed dramatically in August, however, when only two cases were reported (one near Valencia on August 9 and the other, near Lerida on August 24).

The slowdown of new outbreaks in August has raised the confidence of animal health officials that the disease is under control. Their control efforts to so far have included the destruction of 132,000 hogs, of which 32,000 were located in farms affected with outbreaks and 100,000 in quarantined areas.

The national government and the regional governments of Valencia, Cataluña, Castilla la Mancha and Aragon continue to maintain quarantines in some counties where the last outbreaks appeared. The hog population in areas close to the quarantine is about 600,000 head.

In the quarantine area, movements from the farm to the slaughterhouse and from farm to farm must be authorized by animal health authorities. Trucks loaded with hogs are sealed by official vets before leaving the farm and are unsealed in the slaughterhouse, also by official vets.

The export of animals, semen and embryos from Lerida (Cataluña), Valencia, Cuenca (Castilla la Mancha) and Teruel (Aragon) are banned by the EU. France has banned imports of animals from all Spain. In addition, Japan and Argentina have banned imports of pork and pork products from Spain while Russia has banned imports of pork and pork products from infected areas.

Pork Production

The impact of the HC outbreaks on production has been minimal. According to the GOS 132,000 hogs have been destroyed to control the disease. On the other hand, the restriction of movements in areas close to the quarantine area resulted in an increase of the carcasses wight.

During June and July 2001, about 3.5 million hogs had restrictions in the movements due to the HC. Good prices since March 1999 are expected to fueled production in CY 2002. The forecast indicates a new profitable year for CY 2002 despite higher prices for feed grain and protein meals. The pork consumption rose marginally to replace partially the drop in beef consumption.

According to trade sources, the HC has had minimal impact on pork consumption. The outbreaks of HC could increase losses of live animals to 550,000 head. The new regulation for the Spanish swine sector is not a constraint for the expansion of production. New investments to increase production have been reported.

Trade

During June, July and August 2001, export of animals, semen and embryos from some Spanish intensive production were banned by the EU. In August 2001, France has banned temporally imports of live animals from all Spain. In addition, Japan and Argentina have banned imports of pork and pork products from Spain and Russia has banned imports of pork and pork products from infected areas. The impact of the Hog Cholera outbreak on exports of live animals has been significant during the period June-August, 2001. However, the impact of the Hog Cholera outbreak on pork exports has been minimal.

For CY 2000, Imports and export of pork and live animals were as follows: