The fine for bringing pork products from Myanmar has been raised to NT$200,000 (US$6,368), after an outbreak of African swine fever was reported in the Southeast Asian nation, the Council of Agriculture announced on Wednesday.
Myanmar is the seventh Asian country to be affected by the disease, following China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea and Laos, the council said.
The new fine went into effect yesterday, a day after the World Organisation for Animal Health listed Myanmar as a country with an outbreak of African swine fever, council Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) said.
The fine for attempting to bring pork products from Myanmar was increased from NT$30,000 to NT$200,000 for first-time offenders, while repeat offenders are to face a fine of NT$1 million, the council said.
Due to Myanmar’s proximity to China, where an outbreak has shown no signs of abating, people arriving at airports and seaports from the country were already subject to carry-on luggage checks, the Executive Yuan’s Central Emergency Operation Center for African swine fever said.
In addition to people arriving from the seven nations with outbreaks of the disease, those coming from Hong Kong, Macau, Russia, Thailand and South Korea must present their carry-on luggage for inspection at customs, it said.
Of the 2,084 pork products seized at customs as of Wednesday, 113 have tested positive for the disease, 99 of which were brought from China and 14 from Vietnam, council data showed.
African swine fever is a deadly disease that threatens pig populations and has no cure or vaccine, but does not affect humans. It can survive in refrigerated pork for up to 100 days and frozen pork for up to 1,000 days, the council said.
The council also requires owners of vehicles transporting hog parts to and from slaughterhouses to install GPS tracking devices in case it needs to curb virus transmission, it said.
Those who fail to install GPS devices face a fine of NT$3,000 to NT$150,000 starting this month, it added.
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