March 13 (SeeNews) - China’s customs authority announced a ban on direct or indirect imports of pigs and their products from Albania in which an outbreak of African swine fever has been reported.
Last month, Albania reported to the World Organization for Animal Health an outbreak of swine fever in Kukes region, the Chinese customs administration said in a press release on Tuesday.
The authority also said it will ensure that animal and plant waste unloaded from ships, aircraft, and other means of transportation originating in Albania will be properly disposed of.
In a bid to prevent the the spreading of the disease, in January Albania’s agriculture ministry indefinitely banned imports of pigs from 19 trading partner countries where swine fever cases were reported.
African swine fever has evolved into a global crisis for the pork industry in recent years, the World Organization for Animal Health has said. A total of 233 cases have been reported from January 29 to February 18, the organization said in its latest report.
In 2022, China accounted for 44.47% of global pork production, holding the position of the world's largest pork producer, as reported by the organisation. The country saw an outbreak of African swine fever in 2018 but the situation improved in 2022 when only one case was reported.