On Friday (8 December), Russia’s largest pork producer, Miratorg, reported an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) at the feeding station Ivica-2 of the Belgorod Region in Central Federal District. According to Information-analytical agency, eMeat, Belgorod Region currently accounts for about a fifth of Russia’s total pig production; with the main production units of the country’s biggest pork producers, including Miratorg, Agro-Belogoriya and Rusagro, located in the region. The share of the regions of the Central Federal District in January-October 2017 accounted for 55.7% of the total Russian pork production, with Miratorg producing 409,000 tonnes in 2016. The spread of ASF in this District could have potentially disastrous consequences for Russia’s pig production.

If ASF is confirmed on any unit of pigs, all the pigs at the feeding station have to be culled. Miratorg has already notified the insurance companies about the event and has started the process of determining the possible damage within the framework of the current insurance contract.

In September, ASF was found at one of the sites of another large pork producer in the Belgorod region, GC Rusagro, which resulted in the company losing around 2,000 tonnes of pork.

In Russia, the first outbreak of ASF was registered in 2007. In 2017, 103 outbreaks have been recorded in domestic pigs and 33 in wild boars.

It is hoped that authorities can gain control of the spread before other large units suffer the same losses.

Source: eMeat