Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. July 2025
    2. June 2025
    3. 2025 Innovation supplement
    4. May 2025
    5. April 2025
    6. March 2025
    7. 2025 Buildings supplement
    8. February 2025
    9. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    10. January 2025
    11. December 2024
    12. November 2024
    13. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    14. October 2024
    15. September 2024
    16. August 2024
    17. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    18. July 2024
    19. June 2024
    20. 2024 Innovation supplement
    21. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    22. May 2024
    23. April 2024
    24. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    25. March 2024
    26. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    27. February 2024
    28. January 2024
    29. December 2023
    30. November 2023
    31. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    32. October 2023
    33. September 2023
    34. Health Supplement
    Featured

    July 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    July 6, 2025
    Recent

    July 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    July 6, 2025

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025

    2025 Innovation supplement now available

    June 4, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Comment

Belarus accused of hiding cases of African swine fever

Vladislav VorotnitkovBy Vladislav VorotnitkovMay 6, 20183 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

Belarus has been accused of hiding cases of African swine fever (ASF) after products containing the virus genome were discovered in Russia.

Strict sanctions were immediately imposed on Belarus pig farmers; as Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselhoznadzor banned the import of pork and live pigs, by-products, sausages, semi-finished products and even cans with the content of pig-derived products.

Rosselhoznadzor blamed Belarus for hiding ASF outbreaks, although the Belarus Government denied the claims, issuing a statement saying: “The situation in regard to the animal diseases, including ASF, is sustainable with no registered outbreaks”.

However, there have been a number of reports of pig mortality and subsequent culls on farms in Belarus, with no official explanation.

That Belarus may be hiding ASF outbreaks wouldn’t be a surprise to veterinary services in neighbouring countries. Ukraine and Poland have repeatedly reported cases of infected wild boars approaching from Belarus territory – which is why Poland is spending $42 million on plans to build a fence one kilometre long and two metres high.

This isn’t the first time the ASF genome has been identified in sausages supplied from Belarus – so why has Rosselhoznadzor only now decided to impose restrictions?

Indeed, Vladimir Semashko, the deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, commented that ‘somebody in Russia was lobbying that decision’. He went further, suggesting the ban is linked to Russia’s desire to protect its domestic market.

That sounds feasible. After all, fears of an oversupply are steadily growing in Russia, where production growth is depressing prices.

The Russian Union of Pork Producers (RUPP) estimated that prices for half-carcases have dropped by 15% during the past year and by 2.8% already in 2018 to Rub145,610 (£1,694)/tonne. This is the lowest price ever seen in the domestic market and is putting producers under intense financial pressure. 

Brazil, the largest foreign supplier into the Russian market last year, has already been the subject of one pork import ban. So the argument goes that by protecting its customers and maintaining sanitary safety of the products on the shelves, Russian veterinary agencies are also removing some pork blocking the domestic market.

The recently imposed sanctions have delivered a major blow to Belarus pig farming, effectively stopping pork exports from the country. In 2017, Belarus pork exports were worth $14m, 95% of which was sold to Russia.

It was exporting small quantities of pork, but these were primarily products with higher added value, such as pork sausages and ready-to-cook products.

It’s expected the current restrictions will increase the demand for pork from Russian meat-processing plants and help slow the fall in prices. Even so, this may be only a temporary solution. Russian farmers keep building new capacity, despite pleas from the Government to sit tight.

As a result, Russia produced 3.5m tonnes of pork in slaughter weight in 2017 – an increase of 169,400t on the previous year.

Year-on-year comparisons from the RUPP predict that 2018 domestic production could increase by 8% to 280,000t.

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleBiosecurity ‘spring clean’
Next Article ‘People buy people’ – the Black Farmer’s guide to marketing pork
Vladislav Vorotnitkov

Read Similar Stories

Comment: British pork reimagined: Data-led marketing for a changing consumer

July 9, 2025

Comment: Market recovery, export growth and on-farm innovation

July 7, 2025

Will weight of numbers prevail, as ministers reconsider MOP labelling?

July 4, 2025
Latest News

GB pig prices for week ending July 5, 2025 – SPP bounces back to reach year high

July 9, 2025

Nutrient Action Programme could destroy NI pig sector, UFU warns

July 9, 2025

Comment: British pork reimagined: Data-led marketing for a changing consumer

July 9, 2025
Sponsored Content

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024

Tackle the root cause of PWD with free diagnostic tests

March 1, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1759 North Yorkshire

    • North Yorkshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1758 Norfolk

    • Norfolk
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Experienced Pig Stockperson – Ref 1757 South East England

    • South East England
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.