By Jesus Calero and Gus Trompiz
MADRID (Reuters) – African swine fever has returned to Spain for the first time in three decades after two wild boars found dead near Barcelona tested positive for the virus, the Agriculture Ministry said on Friday, putting growing pork exports to China at risk of a ban.
The outbreak, the first since 1994, coincides with Spanish efforts to woo Beijing and gain market share in the pork sector.
But any ban could be limited in scope after China and Spain signed an agreement this month that means China will only restrict imports from an affected region rather than all of Spain. Barcelona is in the region of Catalonia, which accounts for around 8% of the country’s pig farms, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Spain is the European Union’s leading pork producer, accounting for about a quarter of the bloc’s production, ahead of Germany, with annual pork exports of around 3.5 billion euros ($4.05 billion).
“It’s not good news. The European market is already struggling after a 20% drop in prices since July,” said Jean-Paul Simier, a meat analyst at French commodities research group Cyclope.
“There is a risk of an embargo against the EU’s largest pork exporter, notably in Asia, and in particular China.”
Spain’s farmers’ association Asaja said the sector was ready to face the outbreak, but said authorities needed to address the “uncontrolled presence” of wild animals such as pigs and rabbits in rural areas that risked contaminating livestock.
“We have been modernizing farms for years, strengthening biosecurity and making our operations among the most advanced in the world,” she said.
Spanish pig group Interporc said it was working with Catalan and national authorities on cases limited to feral pigs, with a surveillance zone of 20 km (12.4 miles), showing Spain’s strong monitoring of animal health.
The Ministry said it has notified the European Union and activated emergency measures in the affected area, urging pig farms to tighten security measures while investigators try to find the source of the infection.
The virus, which is harmless to humans but deadly to pigs, has been spreading westward in Europe in recent years.
Germany’s sizeable pork industry has already come under fire, with many foreign countries imposing bans on its pork. And in recent months Croatia has been trying to contain an outbreak.
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(Reporting by Jesus Calero; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo, Corina Pons, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Ella Cao in Beijing; editing by Charlie Devereux and Kevin Liffey)