Antique urges people to purchase locally produced pork products

The Government of Antique in the Philippines has urged people to consume locally produced pork products until the threat of the African swine fever (ASF) to the hog industry is resolved.

At a press conference, Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao advised the people not to consume or purchase pork products from Luzon, an island in the Philippines, as some cases of ASF have been identified in that region.

Cadiao said: “Let us refrain (from) buying first, pork not produced in the province.”

She further added that the government has temporarily restricted the entry of 2,000 heads of native pigs.

Cadiao said: “We temporarily withheld procuring pigs outside of Antique because of the ASF.”

The hog population in the Antique province is 73,414, where the majority (68,873) of the hogs are grown in the backyard, while 4,541 are commercially raised.

Cadiao also said that the government will procure hogs from Panay Island, after taking all the safety measures to ensure that ASF will not infect hogs in the province.

This month, the Government of South Korea ordered the culling of thousands of pigs following confirmation of an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF).

The ASF disease was found in a pig farm in the city of Paju, at the country’s border with North Korea, which reported an ASF outbreak in May.

South Korean Agricultural Minister Kim Hyun-soo said that the first case of ASF was confirmed after five pigs, which died at the farm, were tested positive.