Foot and mouth disease
South Korea bans pork imports from Germany
Around 360 tons of German pork are currently undergoing quarantine inspection at South Korean customs. It is not the first import ban in recent years.
After the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in a buffalo herd in Brandenburg, the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture has banned all pork imports from Germany. As the ministry announced in a statement on Saturday evening, the regulation is effective immediately.
In addition, foot and mouth virus tests will be carried out on all German pork products that have been delivered to South Korea since December 27th. A quarantine examination is currently pending for around 360 tons of German pork.
The foot-and-mouth virus was detected in samples from water buffalo from the Brandenburg town of Hönow near Berlin. As a precautionary measure, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals kept nearby were killed. There is now clarity about the variant of the pathogen, as the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) announced. A suitable vaccine can therefore be produced within a few days.
South Korea is traditionally considered a key sales market for German pork in Asia. In 2019, the Republic of Korea imported around 106,000 tons of pork from Germany before imports were stopped the following year until spring 2023 due to an outbreak of African swine fever. Since then, pork sales to South Korea have only slowly recovered.
According to the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food, Germany sold a total of around 2.3 million tons of pork abroad last year. The majority of meat exports go to European countries. When it comes to pork, Italy is the largest buyer, ahead of Poland and the Netherlands.
dpa
Source: Stern
