Pork

China, which has been hit hard by a large-scale swine fever epidemic that has led to a sharp price spike, will take out 10,000 tonnes of frozen pork from its strategic reserves to prevent any shortfall in the run-up to the '70s. Anniversary of the regime, AFP reported.

Payment of one-off aid of 300 BGN to farmers who have taken measures to clean and disinfect their farms after complying with orders to cull domestic pigs will begin after September 1, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency said on August 21, writes BNT.

With the new outbreaks, the cases of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boar are now 32, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Atanas Dobrev told the Bulgarian National Television. 
Without the commitment of the whole Bulgarian community, no good results could be expected, he said.

The spread of African swine fever in Bulgaria, which threatens the Balkan country's pig breeding industry is worrying, an EU Commission spokeswoman said on Thursday, reports Euronews.

The three industrial pig farms in Bulgaria's Rousse district where outbreaks of African Swine Fever were registered are awaiting 1.5 million BGN in compensation for the burial of culled animals and disinfection of the sites, reports BNT.

The amount was specified in a public procurement tender called by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency. The contractors were selected by negotiations.

Some 20,000 - 25,000 people in Bulgaria have already lost their jobs because of African swine fever, financial expert Mika Zaykova said in an interview with Focus News Agency, commenting on the economic consequences of the disease.

"By New Year's Eve the price of the pork in Bulgaria will be with about 50% higher than it was at the beginning of 2019. Its average price will be BGN 7.50." 'This is what Cyril Vatev, an expert of the Association of Meat Processors in Bulgaria told bTV.

From today, employees of the Food Safety Agency will begin checks on the private farms of people in the 20-kilometer surveillance zone. The aim is to determine whether farmers have voluntarily killed their domestic pigs.

The deadline expired on Friday. In the Plovdiv region the villages around the Industrial Zone of Rakovski, Stryama and Belozem will be checked first.

Industrial pig farmers on August 2 called for declaring a state of emergency in the whole of Bulgaria due to the spread of African Swine Fever.

Supported by representatives of meat production, meat processing, and grain producers, they demanded even stricter measures to halt the spread of the virus, which is about to cause huge economic losses to the country.

Greece bans pork imports from Bulgaria. Border checks are rigorous. Imports of pork and pork products are completely banned, BNR reports.

Preventive measures are being taken against the spread of African swine fever. The control of the authorities in the border regions with Bulgaria is strong.