The Philippines will spend $600 million to restore the pig herd

Fewer than 30 villages and towns in the Philippines are currently reporting ASF cases, according to data provided by the Philippine Department of Agriculture. This is a 99% reduction in the area affected by the disease two years ago, when the epidemic began.

"The number of active cases is declining and is now limited to just 22 villages," Ministry spokesman Noel Reyes told a press conference. The number of positive tests in August was the lowest in 12 months, according to government data.

Officials believe that a reduction in the number of ASF outbreaks and a state-funded pig restocking program will allow the Southeast Asian nation to fully restore pork production by 2023.

The country, which was the world's seventh-largest pork importer before the pandemic hit local demand, has been hard hit by ASF outbreaks and has been forced to boost pork imports to cope with severe domestic shortages and inflation.

Due to the shortage of animal protein in the Philippine market, MEAT imports increased by 44.30% in the first six months of 2021, amounting to 581,827 tons at the end of June. Pork leads with 277,850 tons (+175%), followed by buffalo meat (27,279 tons (100%)) and turkey meat (844 tons (25%)).

A recent USDA forecast update for the Philippine meat market for 2021 shows that the Asian country is expected to increase pork imports while poultry meat production may drop slightly. This year, pork imports may reach 425,000 tons, while domestic poultry production growth will reach 330,000 tons.

The Philippine government has now launched a 29.6 billion pesos ($586 million) program to expand the local pig sector, focusing on swine replenishment, financial assistance to pig farmers, and increased biosecurity to control the spread of the ASF virus.

And this fact will be taken into account when preparing the monthly analytical report Meatinfo.ru