The Department of Agriculture in the Philippines has imposed a ban on the imports of pork and related products from Indonesia.
This comes after it confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Indonesian pigs.
A report submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health includes details of an outbreak of ASF. It says that this has affected pigs in the Sumatera Utara province.
ASF is highly contagious among pigs, European wild boar, American wild pigs and warthogs. This could lead to deaths in other pigs.
The disease is not transferrable to humans. However, officials in the Philippines have imposed the ban to control its spread.
The Philippines’ Agriculture Secretary William Dar has issued an immediate suspension of the pork imports from Indonesia.
The Government of the Philippines has granted permission to import meat products from Germany and the US.
Authorities will only allow meat products into the country once they are in line with their quarantine and meat inspection systems procedures.
As a result of this decision, Germany will be exporting beef and poultry meat, while the US will be supplying pork and beef products.
The US and Germany are reported to have met the requirements of the World Organization for Animal Health.
