- Spain leads EU in pork production
- China deal allows regional import restrictions for disease
- Virus spreading in Europe, affecting pork in Germany and Croatia
MADRID, Nov 28 (Reuters) - African swine fever has returned to Spain for the first time in three decades after two wild boar found dead near Barcelona tested positive for the virus, the Agriculture Ministry said on Friday, putting growing pork exports to China at risk of a ban.
The outbreak, the first since 1994, coincides with Spanish efforts to court Beijing and gain market share in the pork sector.
But any ban could be limited in scope after China and Spain signed a deal this month that would mean China would only restrict imports from an affected region rather than from all of Spain. Barcelona is in the Catalonia region, which accounts for about 8% of the country's pork farms, according to Agriculture Ministry figures.
Spain is the European Union's leading pork producer, accounting for roughly a quarter of the bloc's output, ahead of Germany, with annual pork exports of about 3.5 billion euros ($4.05 billion).
"It's not good news. The European market is already struggling after a 20% drop in prices since July," said Jean-Paul Simier, a meat analyst at French commodities research group Cyclope.
"There is a risk of an embargo against the biggest EU pork exporter, notably in Asia, and China in particular."
Spain's farmers' association Asaja said the sector was ready to face the outbreak, but said authorities needed to address an "out of control presence" of wild animals such as boars and rabbits in rural areas that risked contaminating livestock.
"We have spent years modernising farms, reinforcing biosecurity and making our operations among the most advanced in the world," it said.
Spanish pork group Interporc said it was working with Catalan and national authorities on cases limited to wild boar, with a 20-km (12.4-mile) surveillance zone, showing Spain's strong animal-health monitoring.
The ministry said it had notified the European Union and activated emergency measures in the affected area, urging pig farms to tighten security measures while investigators try to find the source of the infection.
The virus, which is harmless to humans but deadly for pigs, has been spreading westwards in Europe in recent years.
Germany's sizeable pork industry has already been rattled, with many overseas countries imposing bans on its pork. And in recent months Croatia has been trying to contain an outbreak.
($1 = 0.8637 euros)
Reporting by Jesus Calero; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo, Corina Pons, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Ella Cao in Beijing; editing by Charlie Devereux and Kevin Liffey
Source: Reuters