The last trades of July ended with the recovery of prices in the slaughter pig market, the analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders stated, citing the results of weekly monitoring of purchase prices.

This is an 80% increase from a decade earlier.

To combat African swine fever, the Ministry of Agriculture has redefined the affected areas. The regulations for hunters in the zones are different.

For the first time in decades, fewer than ten tons of pigs were slaughtered. in Belgium.

The number of wild boar infected with African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in western Germany keeps increasing. Just before the weekend, the total tally in Hesse state was 48 – just this Tuesday the number had risen to 70.

It looks like the African Swine Fever epidemic in western Germany isn’t going to be over any time soon. Over the last week, 4 additional (smaller) farms were reported infected with the virus, one of which having 168 pigs on-site. The number of infected wild boar also keeps growing.

In the most recent global pork report by Rabobank, the bank noticed that global pork markets notice easing costs and a resilient demand. The bank warned for trade effects of geopolitical developments.

Ukraine continues to conduct microbiological monitoring of bacterial pathogens in pigs as part of the project of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) "Keeping Animals Healthy in Ukraine". The research included determining antibiotic susceptibility using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method.

Pig farmers are calling for greater assurances that border checks on meat coming in from the European Union (EU) are being conducted properly as the number of African Swine Fever cases reaches a 10-year high.

Owing to a fresh round of US sanctions, russian commodity exporters increasingly complain about difficulties in collecting payments for the goods delivered to Chinese customers. The issue doesn’t bode well with russia’s plans to boost pork exports to China in the 2nd half of 2024.

In the third decade of July, the decline in prices for slaughterhouse pigs continued, according to the results of the weekly monitoring of purchase prices by the analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders.

On 18 September, Uman will host the International Congress ‘Profitable Pig Production 2024’ - the main event for pig producers and professionals in Ukraine. The event will bring together experts from all over the world to share best practices, innovative solutions and discuss current industry issues.

China plans to implement measures to help dairy and beef producers limit production to prevent prices from falling further, Reuters reported, citing an agriculture official on Wednesday, adding to existing rules on pork producers as meat consumption declines.

In the first five months of this year, the EU member states exported less pork to third countries compared to the same period last year, according to a recent market report from German pig group ISN. Exports recorded a decline of around 2%. In contrast to most other EU countries, Germany was able to significantly expand its exports, reports the Agricultural Market Information Society (AMI) based on data from the EU Commission.

On 2 July, the European Commission authorised two genetically modified maize crops and renewed the authorisation for another genetically modified maize crop for food and animal feed, according to a news release from the Commission.

In Hesse, there have been two further outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in domestic pigs, according to a news release from German pig group ISN. This was announced by the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture this afternoon. Affected are two farms with 17 and 170 pigs, which are located in the southern district of Groß-Gerau and thus in the previously existing restriction zone in Hesse.

The recent outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate are not likely caused by a virus that migrated from east Germany, but from elsewhere in Europe. That was the result of a recent genome analysis.

Major global fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is no longer serving pork at its restaurants in Canada. It is also switching all its chicken to halal, which is a category of meat that is slaughtered according to Muslim religious practices.

A 2nd pig farm has been infected with African Swine Fever (ASF) in the western German state Hesse, near Frankfurt am Main. This time the virus was found in a commercial finisher farm, having 1,100 pigs on-site.

With the pig industry facing numerous challenges, biosecurity is of particular importance. In Ukraine, personnel and transport have traditionally been critical points of disease spread. New educational videos from the AUPB and USDA will help pork producers implement best practices on their farms, which will help maintain animal health and ensure the sustainable development of the industry.