Experts estimate the ASF-infected pork market volume in Ukraine

Kiev. UNN. Ukraine has a fairly large-scale illegal market for pork infected with ASF. This was during a press conference told reporters the general director of "Center for improving the efficiency in animal husbandry," Nikolai Babenko, reports UNN.

He recalled that since 2012, 477 cases of ASF have been registered in Ukraine. "“In neighboring countries, already from the first year of the occurrence of ASF, thousands of cases a year are recorded. Therefore, in fact, there are much more cases in Ukraine and most of them are not officially registered,” the expert said.

The current legislation provides for the destruction of all pigs in the pig farm, where there was a case of ASF, continued Babenko. And the owner of the company receives compensation at market price for live weight, he added. For seven years, the reported losses of pig farms from slaughtered pigs amount to no more than 150 million UAH. Compensated from this amount - just under 1%, Babenko said.

"“What then for the owner of the pig complex means a lack of funds in the compensation budget in case of ASF? Only one thing is bankruptcy. Therefore, cases of ASF in industrial pig farms are massively hidden. And there are many such cases in different areas.

If ASF is suspected, the owner decides to quickly sell off all livestock that is potentially infected with ASF virus - large pigs for slaughter, small for growing on smaller farms and the private sector. For the industry, this means an even greater spread of the virus. In fact, industrial producers of pork are left alone with a problem that they cannot solve themselves, "the expert noted.

Recall that in Ukraine the ASF has not subsided for the sixth year. This year, 11 cases of the disease have already been recorded. In the past - 145. As a result: the amount of imported pork is growing, and in the domestic market for pork and lard - prices are rising.

As politician Sergey Trigubenko noted, in domestic stores pork is already more expensive than in the EU.

SOURCE: UNN