African Swine Fever (ASF) is ravaging the Chinese pork market, a country consuming two-thirds of the world's pork, but efforts are being made by the Chinese government to improve the situation.

The reality of an African Swine Fever outbreak on the Chinese pork system is nothing new. What it does to the purchasing patterns of Chinese consumers might be.

Multiple sources agree that African Swine Fever, first confirmed in China on Aug. 2, 2018, in the northeastern city of Shenyang, is ravaging the Asian giant’s pork industry in a way that will have impacts on global protein production and feed consumption for several years in the future.

The leader of one of the world’s largest meat companies says there is a “distinct possibility” African Swine Fever could make landfall in the U.S., and “we need to be prepared for that.”

Agri-Pulse recently observed airport inspections and spoke with other government officials to gain an inside look at the efforts to prevent and detect African Swine Fever, a fatal disease ripping through European and Asian pork production.

USDA is intensifying efforts to keep African Swine Fever out of the U.S. and educate the public about the devastating virus that’s plaguing China’s pork producers.

The rapid spread of African swine fever in China – home of half the world’s pigs – and outbreaks in Europe are unsettling global pork markets and potentially providing opportunities for major pork producers like the U.S., which has never had an outbreak of the deadly hog disease.