Vietnam stops live pig imports from Thailand

GOLSSEN, GERMANY - APRIL 28: Piglets crowd a stall at the H.C. Daniels hog farm in Drahnsdorf on April 28, 2016 near Golssen, Germany. German hog farmers are exporting pork meat successfully to Great Britain and undercutting British farmers, in large part because British regulations on how pigs may be raised are stricter than in Germany, meaning British pork is more expensive. Supporters of Great Britain's departure from the European Union, or Brexit, cite cheap imports of pork as one example of why Britain should leave the EU. EU membership means Great Britain cannot impose tariffs on German pork. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development took the decision to stop imports to try and prevent the disease from being transmitted to domestic herds.

Enterprises with signed contracts for pigs to be transported to Vietnam before June 30 can still implement them. The ministry has asked the Department of Animal Health to place imported pigs under strict quarantine.

The department had detected the disease among 980 pigs during the quarantine process on May 19. The pigs were imported by livestock firm Senat Limited Liability Company and worth VND6.2 billion ($269,500). The infected pigs were destroyed May 21.

Vietnam allowed the import of live pigs for the first time starting mid-June 2020 to contain rising pork prices as a result of the African swine fever.

The country imported over 503,000 live pigs from Thailand last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.