France has signed an agreement with main export customer China to ensure pork trade can continue even if an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) occurs, potentially providing a blueprint for European countries threatened by the pig disease.
Blanket bans on meat trade by China and other importing countries due to outbreaks of ASF and other diseases, such as bird flu, have regularly disrupted exports from livestock-exporting zones in Europe and the Americas.
China is the largest pork export market for France and the European Union, with Chinese demand surging in the last two years as ASF devastated its domestic herd.
ASF, deadly for pigs but harmless to humans, is not present in France but has spread across Europe and cases in wild boar were found in Belgium, near the French border, three years ago.
The agreement, which took effect Dec. 9, means China would allow pork exports from unaffected regions of France even if ASF occurred elsewhere in the country, the French Economy and Agriculture ministries said in a statement.
