German Minister of Food and Agriculture Julia Klöckner and Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian held a video conference during which they exchanged views on the possibility and conditions for resuming German pork supplies to CHINA.
The meeting of heads of agricultural departments, included in the program of six intergovernmental consultations, was attended by German and Chinese experts on African swine fever. Negotiations between the cabinets of ministers from both sides will take place in the last days of April.
Ms. Klöckner briefed her colleague on the current ASF epizootic situation in Germany, focusing on the fact that since September 2020, the virus has not entered any of the pig farms. Outbreaks were found only in populations of wild boars inhabiting the territory of two federal states.
The German veterinary services have done a great job of strengthening the biosecurity of farms, educating villagers, building fences to distinguish between infected and virus-free areas, regulating the number of wild boars and epidemiological monitoring. At the same time, they gained unique experience in coordinating efforts with neighboring countries, confirming the effectiveness of the principle of regionalization, which can be used in the future by the veterinary services of Southeast Asia.
The parties agreed to establish a working group to combat the spread of ASF and intensify German-Chinese negotiations to resume trade.