A Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries official on Tuesday responded to a report that China is to ban pig imports from the Kingdom due to an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) by saying Cambodia has never exported the animals to overseas markets.
Reuters on Monday said Chinese customs are to ban the import of pigs, wild boar and related products from Cambodia following reports of the first case of the highly contagious disease in the Kingdom.
Tan Phannara, director-general of the General Directorate of Animal Health and Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, on Tuesday said Cambodia does not export pigs to China.
“We have never exported [pigs] to China and we currently cannot meet [domestic] demand,” he said.
Cambodia reported its first outbreak of ASF in pig farms in Ratanakkiri province in late March.
Some 400 pigs succumbed to the disease and a further 100 were slaughtered and disposed of to halt its spread.
The disease, which is incurable in pigs but harmless to humans, rapidly spread across China before reaching Vietnam in February.
Cambodia Livestock Raisers Association director Srun Poav on Tuesday said the Kingdom’s pig industry continues to struggle in finding sufficient supply for the local market and is currently unable to export overseas.
“We still have a shortage of around 100 tonnes of pigs per day to fulfil local demand,” he said, adding that the shortage is to be made up by imports from Thailand following a ban on Vietnamese pig exports due to the spread of ASF.
