China lifts restrictions due to US PEDv protocols
China has ended a four-month ban on imports of live US pigs after the US Department of Agriculture established protocols to test animals for deadly swine diseases, the USDA said.
China, the world’s No. 1 pork consumer, and Japan in April became the first countries to notify the United States that they would suspend live pig imports over concerns about the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, or PEDv. The disease has killed up to 8 million US piglets since it was first discovered in the country last year.
Japan resumed imports on July 11, according to the USDA. “The USA is back in the pig business for both countries,” Tony Clayton, president of the Livestock Exporters Association of the USA, told Reuters in an email.
The protocols for testing come as the USDA is fighting to calm fears about PEDv among importers after the fast-spreading disease hurt trade more than officials had expected.
Source: The Business Times
Join 18,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the pigsector, three times a week.
