A ban on transporting and slaughtering pigs would continue until Thursday next week, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, adding that border checks would be tightened and that authorities would clamp down on smuggling.
The ban was extended for another 10 days to ensure tight control of the situation during the 15-day incubation period of the African swine fever (ASF) virus, he said.
Hog farms must report any abnormality and cooperate with inspections, Cho said.
Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times
The government would also strictly inspect inbound travelers, parcels and packages, and clamp down on smuggling, he said, adding that he has asked the Customs Administration to deploy its full workforce.
According to the Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例), people who import packages containing pork products would be fined NT$200,000 (US$6,490) for the first offense and NT$1 million for every incident thereafter.
Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said Taiwan produced about 808,000 tonnes of pork last year, accounting for about 90 percent of domestic demand.
Taiwan’s pork exports reached 2,821 tonnes last year, accounting for only 0.3 percent of total production, so the pork export suspension would not greatly affect the pork industry, he added.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and director of the Taichung ASF response unit Tu Wen-jane (杜文珍) said that of the 168 hog farms in Taichung, 152 reported no abnormalities and 16 were suspended as of yesterday.
Chen said no abnormalities were found in the 5,441 hog farms nationwide, adding that samples taken from the farms tested negative for ASF.
There was a discrepancy between the number of dead pigs reported by the ASF-affected farm, which was 117, and the number of carcasses the rendering plant received (106), he said.
These issues would be clarified in the next round of investigations, he added.
A subsidy scheme for pig farmers and business operators would be announced by the end of this week, Chen said, adding that the scheme would be retroactive from the first day of the ban period.
Minister of the Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) said Taiwan produces more than 2 tonnes of kitchen waste per day, of which about 1.3 tonnes are used to feed pigs.
The amount of kitchen waste being produced during the ban period is straining processing capacity, he said, urging people to reduce kitchen waste.
Asked why many pork stalls or eateries temporarily closed, despite there being enough frozen pork supply, Chen said that most vendors use freshly slaughtered pork.
As for a truck spotted transporting pigs in Tainan’s Houbi District (後壁), Chen expressed strong disapproval and said: “All transportation of pigs are prohibited, including transporting pigs between different farms of the same owner.”
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