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China reshapes global meat markets as swine fever rages

London | Beijing | Reuters – China is scouring the world for meat to replace the millions of pigs killed by African swine fever (ASF), boosting prices, business and profits for European and South American meatpackers as it re-shapes global markets for pork, beef and chicken. The European Union, the world’s second largest pork producer […] Read more

U.S. pork exports have jumped as hog processors vie for business in China where African swine fever has devastated hog herds. Though not harmful to humans, the disease is deadly to pigs and there is no vaccine available

African swine fever outbreak cuts Vietnam hog herd by 20 per cent

Larger operators indicate the disease’s spread has slowed

Chicago | Reuters – African swine fever has killed off about 20 per cent of Vietnam’s hog herd, and it is not clear whether the outbreak has been contained, U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Ted McKinney said October 18. There were some reports that the number might be higher, said McKinney, who spoke to reporters […] Read more


Vietnam study tour aims to strengthen swine fever strategy

Vietnam study tour aims to strengthen swine fever strategy

American group to try to pin down prevention options

An American hog health expert hopes to learn about common vectors for African swine fever transmission on a trip to Vietnam. Dr. Paul Sundberg, executive director of the United States-based Swine Health Information Center told the Shakespeare Swine Seminar that he also hoped to clarify cleaning and dis- infection protocols before repopulating an affected production […] Read more




A truck driver prepares to unload soybeans in Brazil.

Soybean exports from Brazil to slump on African swine fever crisis

But corn sourcing is expected to rise significantly over the past year’s levels

Sao Paulo | Reuters – Chinese commodities trader COFCO told Reuters it expects a sharp drop in the amount of soybeans it will source for export from Brazil this year due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China that has hurt demand for animal feed. In an interview with Reuters Sept. 22, […] Read more

A macrophage (immune response) cell in early stages of infection with African swine fever virus, magnified about 1,000x. (Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

South Korea confirms new cases of African swine fever

Seoul | Reuters — South Korea has confirmed new cases of African swine fever at hog farms in cities near the capital Seoul after the country’s first outbreak of the deadly virus last week, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. The new case occurred at a pig farm with about 1,800 pigs in the city […] Read more


File photo of a hog cooling off in a pond in the Philippines. (Stewart Hall/iStock/Getty Images)

Philippines checks for swine fever as pig deaths rise

Manila | Reuters — The Philippines has set up a crisis management team to determine if the deadly African swine fever virus has reached the country after officials detected a rise in pig deaths in some areas. The Bureau of Animal Industry had reported an increased mortality of pigs “raised by farmers in their backyards” […] Read more

The U.S. pork industry’s lifeline has roots in global marketing efforts that began more than a decade before the current U.S- China trade dispute.

U.S. hog farmers benefit from diverse markets

They were significantly less affected by declining Chinese market access than soybean or sorghum farmers

Reuters – U.S. hog farmers lost hundreds of millions of dollars in export sales to China and Mexico after President Donald Trump launched his trade wars last year. But the sector has largely offset those massive losses by cobbling together new customers in smaller markets from Colombia to Vietnam, according a Reuters analysis of data […] Read more