Since the beginning of the year, African swine fever has been registered in twelve districts in Serbia. First news about the ASF in Serbia appeared in May 2023. The first cases were recorded in western part of Serbia, but very soon it emerged in eastern and south eastern parts of the country.
In accordance with internal regulations, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, i.e. its Veterinary Sector, supervises domestic and wild pigs, while special measures are in force in infected and endangered areas.
The main measures that have been applied relate to the enumerating, marking and health surveillance of all pigs on farms, epizootiological and diagnostic tests of domestic and wild pigs, as well as control measures, prohibitions and restrictions on the movement and circulation of live pigs, pork, by-products from pigs from the restricted area.
According to the latest data, the result of the veterinary active surveillances of domestic pigs is that in 918 farms in 30 municipalities, 1,363 cases of African swine fever were confirmed, of which 662 died. Data of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management showed that 11,840 pigs of various categories were euthanized, along with disinfection of the farm.
For dead and killed pigs, full financial compensation to the owners of the animals is foreseen under an urgent procedure. Funds in the name of compensation for damages are paid out regularly, while the precise amount depends on the number of animals.
The Ministry appealed to pig owners to report any change in their health status to the veterinarian, in order to quickly diagnose the disease and take all necessary measures in the shortest possible time to prevent the spread of the disease.
African swine fever represents an extremely serious threat to the entire production system. Not only that it threatens the country’s food security when it comes to the supply of pork to the market, but it also represents a major challenge to the source of income for farmers and all other participants in the production chain, and as a result of export restrictions, it also negatively affects the country’s international trade.
Correspondingly, in Novi Sad Meat Industry “Matijević” they said that the spread of the disease on large farms can be expected and that Serbia may be left without a single pig, if something is not done urgently. Experts warn that, as there is no cure for African swine fever, and for that reason the animals are being destroyed, which is a huge economic loss.
When it comes to animal husbandry, Serbia has been in trouble for a long time, especially in dairy cattle and pig farming, and the African swine fever will worsen the situation. In the 1990s, Serbia had 4.2 million pigs, and now about two million. The number of pigs was not reduced only because of the ASF, but because of the general attitude towards that branch of production.
In 2022, in nine months, Serbia imported 213,000 piglets and 31,000 tons of pork. The situation in domestic pig farming is very bad, and this is compounded by unfavourable trends in the world. Domestic pig breeders are in a deep crisis, which was contributed by the pandemic, rising production costs, and the war in Ukraine. Additionally, the import of cheap processed products through trade chains is one of the main factors of the bad situation in pig farming.
The very system of organizing pig farming in Serbia is poor, because larger farms are mostly family-owned, and companies are not interested in exporting pork in small quantities, subsequently, small producers are not united and act individually. Small producers are under pressure from large slaughterhouses which, due to circumstances, are in a position to behave monopolistically and dictate the price, which reduces production and that is why Serbia now has only about 160,000 sows, while a few years ago it had 1.1 million. They will meet the end of this year with 110,000 sows. That is why, during the last four to five years, Serbia from the exporter became an importer of pork meat.
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