A senior Chinese veterinary official has denied a foreign media
report that "blue-ear disease" has caused the death of 20 million
pigs.
Li Jinxiang, deputy director of the veterinary bureau of the
Ministry of Agriculture, said that there had been an outbreak of
blue-ear disease but "it is impossible" that so many pigs have
died.
In an FT.com report on Wednesday, an unidentified industry
executive was quoted as saying "I have heard that it (blue-ear
disease) has killed as many as 20m hogs."
Li said he was aware of the report, but the death rate from the
disease was not that dramatic.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture is sorting out
statistics and will release them soon, according to Thursday's
China Business News.
Blue-ear disease is an animal epidemic that can seriously
endanger the pig-breeding industry. It broke out in some areas of
China in the summer-autumn period of 2006, causing a temporary
shortage of piglets, the report says.
Information from the Ministry of Agriculture said that the
number of pigs infected has dropped sharply and the epidemic
situation is stable.
In April this year, the average wholesale price of pork was
12.99 yuan/kg, up 35.5 percent year-on-year.
(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2007)