Several swine farms in Indonesia had been hit by the dreaded African swine fever (ASF) virus since 2019, and one such farm is located in the island of Pulau Bulan, about 22 kilometers off Singapore’s south coast.
Due to the severe impact of the disease, the farm’s herd population – close to 400,000 pigs of which 350,000 were raised primarily to serve the fresh pork market of Singapore – was almost wiped out. This triggered meat traders in the city-republic to scramble for chilled pork suppliers around the world who would be able to quickly fill in the supply shortage brought by the outbreak.
By late May 2023, only a fraction of the vast animal production area in the island was able to survive the onslaught. To this day, managers and veterinarians of the farm operated by PT Indo Tirta Suaka have been painstakingly racing against time to save the remaining standing animals, a reliable insider, familiar with the farm’s animal health and operation, told this writer recently.
“Our immediate concern now is to save the animals and to be able to resume live hog export shipment to Singapore within a year. Otherwise we could lose our long-standing supply contract with its government,” the insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said.
PigUA.info by materials rappler.com