Khaberni - Spain faces the risk of swine fever spread near Barcelona, with official concerns about a direct impact on pork exports and the initiation of accurate health monitoring.
The newspaper "La Vanguardia" reported on Sunday that suspected cases of African swine fever have been detected in 8 wild boars near the city of Barcelona, at a time when Spain is intensifying efforts to limit the damage to the pork export sector, which is valued at billions of euros annually.
The newspaper quoted sources close to the Ministry of Agriculture in the Catalonia region saying that two of the monitored cases have been confirmed to have the disease, while symptoms have appeared on another 12 pigs, although they are still under examination to confirm their health status.
If the test results are confirmed, the total number of affected animals would reach 14 cases.
Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said on Saturday that nearly a third of Spanish pork export certificates had been cancelled following the first appearance of swine fever in the country, which has been the largest producer of pork within the European Union since 1994.
The minister added during a press conference: "Out of 400 export certificates to 104 countries, a third of the certificates have been canceled, and we are working on reissuing them as quickly as possible."
Annual sector export value
Planas pointed out that the value of Spain's pork exports reaches 8.8 billion euros ($10.2 billion) annually, confirming: "Our mission is to keep international markets open."
