LOCAL hog raisers, led by the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI), asked the Philippine government to issue a ban on all pork imports from China, Vietnam and Cambodia due to the presence of hog diseases similar to that which hit hogs in Luzon last year.

In a press briefing in Quezon City on Monday, NFHFI chairman Gabriel H. Uy said issuing the ban would compel quarantine officers and port authorities to be more on guard, particularly against smuggled goods.

“We do not import pork in large quantities [from these countries], but pork products are smuggled into the Philippines, usually from China,” Uy told reporters.

In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, NFHFI noted that the disease that hit local farms is of similar characteristics to those that also hit China, Vietnam and Cambodia.

“Allowing the entry of pork from China, Vietnam and Cambodia will further expose the local hog industry to a strain of virus similar to this strain of virus and pose a serious health risk to our people,” said NFHFI.

Unlike in the case of countries affected by avian influenza (AI), NFHFI noted that the Philippines does not automatically impose a ban on countries where an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) have been reported.

Dr. Cesar Ballesteros, charter fellow of the Philippine College of Swine Practitioners, said that unlike AI, PRRS and PED are not usually transmitted to humans.

To  improve the ability of the Philip-pines to diagnose the strains of hog diseases that will hit hog farms and ensure that pork imports are free from diseases, Ballesteros said the Bureau of Animal Industry needs to invest in an equipment that will allow polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

Until now, Ballesteros and the NFHFI noted that the virus strain that hit the hog industry late last year is yet to be fully identified as laboratory samples have not yet been sent to the United States National Veterinary Services Laboratory on Plum Island, New York.

While hog raisers vaccinated their hog population last year, Uy said the vaccines administered merely controlled the symptoms. Identifying the exact strain of the virus, he said, will make efforts to combat hog diseases more effective.

The NFHFI said the ban is an immediate measure that the government can immediately implement. The group had also recommended the implementation of more measures to help the industry cope with the onslaught of various hog diseases that had crippled backyard raisers in Luzon.

Hog raisers proposed for the establishment of an “Indemnity Fund,” which can be used to destroy hogs in affected farms and to compensate the affected farmer.

Earlier, the NFHFI had also called for the establishment of fully equipped, state-of-the-art Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratories in key regions of the country to ensure the prompt and adequate diagnosis of current and emerging animal diseases.

The group said Regions 3, 4, 7 and 9 are key hog-producing regions and establishing diagnostic centers in these regions could also serve the requirements of adjacent areas.

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