The Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, has requested the National Sanitary, Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) to check all batches of pork brought from the European Union for African swine fever, warning that there is a risk of „bringing the disease to Romania” from outside the country.

„I requested ANSVSA to carry out checks on swine fever for each batch of imported meat. There is a risk that we will bring the disease to Romania from outside the country. You should know that I have looked into this subject a lot and have conducted numerous analyses at the Ministry of Agriculture, but also in the territory. Think about it, why does swine fever appear in peasant households? There may be a very high risk of importing infested pork,” Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu told AGERPRES.

„I requested ANSVSA to carry out checks on swine fever for each batch of imported meat. There is a risk that we will bring the disease to Romania from outside the country. You should know that I have looked into this subject a lot and have conducted numerous analyses at the Ministry of Agriculture, but also in the territory. Think about it, why does swine fever appear in peasant households? There may be a very high risk of importing infested pork,” Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu told AGERPRES.

„We have a sample of 2-3%, a margin to check and take analyses. From the analyses done and from what I have seen in the territory, many outbreaks have recently appeared in peasant households, which makes me believe that many Romanians, consumers, buy this meat from the retail store, prepare it at home and as it happens – it also happened in my country and it still happens in rural areas – most of the dishes prepared with pork, which is not completely consumed, are given to animals, to pigs, mixed with feed, with corn, wheat and sunflower meal. I believe that this is a possibility of spreading the disease, which must be carefully checked. Especially during this period, we must eliminate the risk of bringing diseases to Romanian farms. Of „That is why I requested ANSVSA to make a clear verification and in the coming period, during the holidays, to conduct analyses on all batches of meat entering from the European Union in order not to bring this disease to Romania,” Florin Barbu emphasized.

„We have a sample of 2-3%, a margin to check and take analyses. From the analyses done and from what I have seen in the territory, many outbreaks have recently appeared in peasant households, which makes me believe that many Romanians, consumers, buy this meat from the retail store, prepare it at home and as it happens – it also happened in my country and it still happens in rural areas – most of the dishes prepared with pork, which is not completely consumed, are given to animals, to pigs, mixed with feed, with corn, wheat and sunflower meal. I believe that this is a possibility of spreading the disease, which must be carefully checked. Especially during this period, we must eliminate the risk of bringing diseases to Romanian farms. Of „That is why I requested ANSVSA to make a clear verification and in the coming period, during the holidays, to conduct analyses on all batches of meat entering from the European Union in order not to bring this disease to Romania,” Florin Barbu emphasized.

„The National Institute of Statistics shows very clearly: if until 2022 we had a degree of self-sufficiency in pork of 28%, we were practically importing over 70% of pork, this year, through the investments we have had in the last two years at the Ministry of Agriculture, both in the reproduction sector – where we now produce 1.5 million more piglets – and in the fattening sector, through the 2020-2024 programs financed by European funds, we have managed to ensure consumption in a proportion of approximately 52% of domestic production. Practically, now we only import approximately 50% of pork,” Barbu specified.

He stated that retailers agreed to this request and discussions have already begun to integrate a larger amount of local meat on the shelf.

According to statistical data, in 2024, Romania imported pork (fresh, refrigerated or frozen) worth over one billion euros, the largest quantity coming from the EU, from countries such as Spain, Germany, Hungary and Poland.

Regarding the way African swine fever was managed on Romanian territory, the Minister of Agriculture claimed that ANSVSA did its job „very well”, considering that Romania is about to move to the „pink zone”, which will allow it to export processed pork products.

„The Veterinary Sanitary Authority has done its job very well. Why? Because in the coming period we will move into the ‘pink zone’. The whole country will move and then many processors can export these products, because we have very good processing units. And I am glad that most processors are now heading to farms in Romania. And I will give you an example: Elite integrates 100% pork from Smithfield. Basically, it is the same company that integrates pork into the processing units. The same thing happens in most processing units”, explained the Minister of Agriculture.

In his opinion, products processed in Romania have started to be sought after for export, because „the quality of Romanian pork is superior.” „The products that our farmers and processors make have a very clean label and a very good taste. That is why products processed in Romania have started to be sought after for export,” the MADR official added.

According to ANSVSA data, transmitted to AGERPRES, between January 1 and November 27, 453 outbreaks of African swine fever were confirmed in Romania, of which 431 in households and 22 in commercial farms. Currently, 47 ASF outbreaks are still active: 44 in households and 3 in commercial farms.AGERPRES