Cambodia tightens border controls for pig imports from Thailand

African swine fever outbreaks in Thailand are making pig farmers in Cambodia nervous. Although Cambodia has reported several cases of ASF in pig farms over the past two years, farmers and officials are concerned about a new wave of infections that could undo all the progress made in the past 18 months.

Battambang's agricultural department is already on the ground, checking small pig farms to make sure none of the animals are infected with ASF, according to the Khmer Times.

Veterinary director Pal Set said yesterday that he had visited pig farms in two provinces after learning of the ASF outbreak in Thailand.

“I had to educate breeders about ASF, its symptoms and how to prevent pigs from contracting the disease,” he said, adding that it is important to educate breeders about ASF, even though many pig farms have closed their operations due to Covid and only a few continue to operate.

The Thai government has already begun checking pig farms across the country to prevent a major outbreak of ASF following reports that the first case of the disease was found in domestic pigs in the country.

However, the disease may have been present in Thailand for at least nine months. In March 2021, Vietnam decided to suspend the import of live pigs from Thailand due to the fact that traces of African swine fever were found in some of the imported pigs. Pig farmers in Thailand have also expressed concern about the outbreak, especially due to the lack of a vaccine to protect animals against ASF.

Meanwhile, officials in Bangkok have decided to limit the export of live pigs for 3 months to shore up domestic supplies. Pork prices in Thailand rose by 30% in January this year compared to the same month last year, and the Thai government hopes to keep inflation under control.