The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation consumer assurance head, Dr Thandi Chiappero, said pork prices remain favourable despite recent challenges. “The guys who do not have the disease are doing quite well at the moment. The pork price is quite decent. We’re sitting at about R41.”

She said the retail price is about R128 per kilo. But disease outbreaks have still had a significant impact, with “a substantial loss of slaughter figures due to the disease outbreaks”.

Both foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and African swine fever (ASF) pose serious risks to the industry. “I don’t think it is fair to say one or the other. The total landscape is the problem … massive risk and not only to our producers, but really to the whole value chain.”

Limited information is available about how certain FMD strains behave in pigs. Consequently, research is underway in collaboration with the University of Pretoria to maintain food security.

High mortality rate

ASF remains particularly concerning due to its high mortality rate. The disease is harmless to humans but devastating for pigs, with “anything between 70% and up to 100% mortality rates”. Farmers should watch for warning signs such as unusually high deaths, red or purple discoloration, fever, and increased abortions among sows.

The spread of both diseases is largely linked to human movement and contaminated materials. “The spread over large distances is obviously not due to the pig; that is due to human movement,” said Chiappero. High infection pressure in surrounding areas makes containment difficult.

While vaccination is available for FMD, no vaccine exists for ASF. Biosecurity remains critical. “Biosecurity is a risk mitigation measure. You are not going to cut down your risk to zero, but it does greatly reduce the risk.”

New farmers should avoid free-roaming pigs and implement strict controls. “That pig that is roaming is your highest risk pig.” Controlled housing and monitoring of surrounding livestock are essential to preventing disease.

OFM Agri/Elsabé Richard-May  dg

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