Pork meat prices have dropped another 10 cents per kilo at Mercolleida, reaching 1.10 euros, in response to the African swine fever outbreak in Collserola. Four new positive cases in wild boars are confirmed, bringing the total to 13. Authorities call for mass culls to contain the disease and safeguard exports through regionalization.
Price drop and new cases
Spain's pork sector is grappling with a worsening African swine fever (ASF) crisis. On Thursday, Mercolleida, the national reference market, agreed to cut the pork price by 10 cents, from 1.20 to 1.10 euros per kilo, following a similar reduction on Monday. This double drop in under a week is unprecedented in 30 years, according to director general Miquel Àngel Bergés.
Confirmation of cases in Collserola
Laboratories have identified four more positive wild boars for ASF in the Collserola range, Barcelona, bringing the total to 13 cases since the outbreak began. Of the 50 dead boars in the area, the vast majority tested negative, reported Catalonia's Agriculture Minister Òscar Ordeig. He attributes the disease's entry to human factors, possibly via the AP-7: “Almost certainly, the ASF entered through human factors”.
Containment measures
Bergés calls for culling all boars within a 20 km radius and the 30,000 pigs on 39 nearby farms to prevent spread. “It is essential to continue slaughtering pigs and allow slaughterhouses margin,” he said. The EU expanded the affected zone to 91 Barcelona municipalities, but Ordeig clarifies it does not change the security radius. A “white corridor” will exterminate nearby boars.
Export impacts
No domestic pigs are infected a week after the first case. Negotiations aim to limit bans: China accepts regionalization excluding only Barcelona; the UK, Philippines, and Chile follow the EU zone. However, Japan and Mexico have closed markets to all Spanish pork, impacting over 300 million euros in Catalonia. Ordeig warns ASF is endemic in Eastern Europe and entered uncontrollably.