For the past two years, Italy has been fighting an intense war with African swine fever (ASF), but there is still no sign of the enemy retreating. In fact, since January 2022, over 120,000 pigs have been slaughtered, mainly in the north of the country, to try and control the spread of the dreaded disease.

Elite police snipers in the Czech Republic have been deployed on a ‘search and destroy’ mission to track down and kill as many wild boars infected with the contagious African Swine Fever (ASF) as possible.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB) are finalising the development of an industry standard for biosecurity in pig production. This activity is being implemented within the framework of the project ‘Keeping Animals Healthy in Ukraine’.

November began for live bait market operators with a further strengthening of quotations for slaughter pigs, according to the results of the weekly monitoring of purchase prices by the analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders.

For the first time, Vietnam is the main importer of pork from Paraná, while two new markets (the Philippines and the Dominican Republic), which started buying pork this year, are already among the top 10 destinations.

Sri Lanka has temporarily prohibited the slaughter, transport, and sale of pigs to prevent disease spread.

Anvisa (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency) recently approved the regulation and use of cannabis-based products in production animals.

While more than 600 wild boar infected with African swine fever (ASF) have been found in Alessandria, Italy, since 2022, the province has now recorded its first outbreak involving domestic pigs.

Where the whole of Europe is trying to redesign farrowing pens to combine liberty for sows with no crushing, Australia’s SunPork Group introduced a different type of solution: maternity rings. The idea was properly researched before its launch.

Pork producers around the world are cautious about herd rebuilding. That is mostly related to ongoing uncertainties regarding trade, disease and demand. Logistical challenges and potential impacts from La Niña further complicate the market. This is the summary of the periodical RaboResearch market analysis.

The amount of pig culls related to African Swine Fever (ASF) in northern Italy has almost reached the 100,000 mark in 2024. The number of infected pig farms in 2024 alone has grown to 31.

With those figures – communicated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) – the year 2024 has been the heaviest by far for Italy since genotype II of ASF emerged in the country in 2022, first in wild boar, then in domestic pigs. The 2024 culls have been taking place in a large zone in the north of Italy, comprising parts of 4 regions.

The best practices of biosecurity of domestic pig farms and training videos, which were filmed by the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB) within the framework of the project ‘’Keeping Pigs Healthy in Ukraine‘’, implemented by the association in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), were presented to the academic staff and students of Dnipro National Agrarian and Economic University.

Taiwan has been declared free of African swine fever (ASF), bringing the nation one step closer to being the only place in Asia unaffected by the three major swine diseases. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) yesterday formally approved Taiwan’s application to be declared ASF-free, submitted in July, the Ministry of Agriculture said today.

A backyard pig in the American state Oregon has been found positive for avian influenza A, type H5N1, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The discovery constitutes the first-known case of the virus emerging in swine.

At the end of October, quotations on the slaughterhouse live market showed a fairly rapid recovery, according to the analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders, based on weekly monitoring of purchase prices.

Every year, the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders conducts benchmarking among industrial pig farms in Ukraine - a comparative cross-section of production and technological indicators. Impressions from the results of the 7th round of the study were shared in the analytical department of the Association.

Since 2021 with its detection in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, African swine fever (ASF) has been knocking at our door. This highly contagious viral disease, which is harmless to humans but up to 100% fatal to pigs, has already decimated swine populations across Asia, Europe and elsewhere. Its potential arrival in the U.S. continues to be a concern since our economy and our daily routines are at stake.

ASF poses a multifaceted threat to the U.S., impacting not only farmers, producers, and the pork industry, but also impacting the broader U.S. economy, including impacting the average American’s dinner table.

On 28 October, representatives of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB) held an important meeting with the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Vitalii Koval. The main topics of discussion were the critical challenges facing the industry, its support and prospects for development in the current economic situation and the increased requirements of European integration.

For several reasons, Poland has not managed to control ASF in wild boars and pigs. What measures has this country implemented during these 10 years and why were they insufficient?

US shipments of fresh, frozen, and cooked pork in August were estimated at 192,376 MT, marking a 7.1% increase compared to the previous year, according to a recent Pork Checkoff market report. This uptick follows a 14% rise in exports in July. Year-to-date, total US pork export shipments reached 1.6 million MT, representing a 5.2% increase from last year.