Greece banned pork imports from Bulgaria due to ASF situation, Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Dessislava Taneva said.
Over the past couple of months, 21 new outbreaks were recorded in the country, as a result of which 50 thousand pigs were rejected. Three regions of the country, Plevna, Razgrad and Ruse, are declared a state of emergency, as the disease continues to spread.
In Bulgaria, 1.2 million pigs are raised on farms, and production is estimated at $ 344 million. Officials predict that losses will be up to $ 1 billion if the virus continues to spread.
They believe that it is necessary to strengthen border controls with Greece, and each traveler’s luggage will be checked to prevent pork from being transported abroad.
It was previously reported that in Bulgaria more than 17 thousand pigs were rejected after the presence of the virus was confirmed on a farm near Ruse. The Bulgarian government has announced a new outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) on a farm near the border with Romania.
The disease was confirmed on a large farm for 17 thousand pigs in the village of Nikolovo, near the border town of Ruse.
