The African swine fever control center has put a temporary ban on pig feed made from organic compost in an effort to keep African swine fever from spreading. This order will be in effect from September 1 to 30 and will then be reevaluated.
African swine fever does not affect humans, but is fatal to pigs, and threatens to devastate Taiwan's sizable pork industry. Unlike many of its neighbors, Taiwan has kept the disease at bay. But the recent discovery of pork products containing the African swine fever virus, including smuggled meat from Vietnam, has raised alarm bells.
During the ban, farmers will be required to buy manufactured pig feed in place of compost feed. The government will subsidize the difference in price in order to protect farmers from facing sizable bills.
Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung says the rule will minimize the risk of smuggled, contaminated meat from ending up in pig feed and infecting other animals.
The head of the national pig farmers' association, Huang Jin-chung, says that eliminating composted pig feed is essential to avoiding an outbreak of the African swine fever in Taiwan. It will cost around NT$500 million, or roughly US$18 million, for all farms to switch to buying manufactured pig feed for at least a month.