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Rabobank: ASF persists in Asia, Europe

A protein analyst with Rabobank says herd health improvements continue to be a major task for pork producers around the world.

Christine McCracken tells Brownfield African swine fever (ASF) has been persistent in Asia. “China continues to see outbreaks, especially in the northern part,” she said. “But they have learned to manage it a bit. The Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea continue to have some outbreaks.”

She says some areas of Europe have dealt with ASF-related disruptions.

“They continue to see outbreaks in wild boars,” McCracken said. “That’s a tough one because it’s really hard to get your arms around some of those feral pig populations. There’s certainly an ongoing threat around the world because of that and there’s been very little progress on a vaccine.”

McCracken says it’s had a fairly limited impact on the overall market. “What is does do though is it limits trade if you are affected,” she noted.

Rabobank’s most recent quarterly pork report indicates biosecurity is the main priority for U.S. producers to keep the disease out of the country.