Swine fever, export alarm: damage of 1.7 billion euros

A health problem that risks causing irreparable damage to the productive and economic fabric linked to the pig sector, in particular for the production of DOP and IGP hams which, from Parma to Norcia, represent the flagship of Made in Italy . Cia-Agricoltori Italiani expresses its deep concern over the African swine fever (Psa) alarm which could have a devastating impact on a strategic sector of national agriculture, undermining years of work dedicated to the quality of production, consumer safety and animal welfare. The competent authorities of Japan and Taiwan have already ordered the blocking of imports of Italian pork and further manifestations of commercial hostility are feared. Currently, the export of cured meats and pork stands at 1.7 billion euros (+ 12.2% compared to 2020). The main types of exported products are cured and boneless hams, speck, coppa and culatelli. Despite the great concern, CIA reiterates that the bio-security measures of Italian farms have very high standards, which will be further strengthened in the coming weeks to protect livestock farms, at risk of collapse in the unfortunate hypothesis of outbreaks. Although there is no case of contamination of the swine population, the CIA asks the institutions to maintain a high level of alert and regrets the wicked management of the wildlife problem by our political decision-makers, at the origin of this serious health alarm. For years, in fact, the CIA has been fighting to obtain an effective policy of containment of ungulates, which heavily damage crops, and has called for specific interventions to defend against the proliferation of wild boars, the main transmission vector of swine fever. The numbers speak for themselves: 2 million ungulates in circulation, over 200 million damage to agriculture and 469 accidents, including fatalities, in four years