Sale of pork hit massively in Mexico
POSTED May 18, 2009 - 13:08 | POSTED BY Neharika Sabharwal
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on May 18, 2009 - 14:07
Pork industry falling apart
The pork industry in the state has been falling apart because of the influenza. According to reports, pork traders have complained about low patronage of pork products due to the outbreak of the swine flu in country.
Mexican pork producers contend that thousands of jobs and billions of dollars are at stake because of the swine flu.
Sales are particularly bad in Mexico's southeastern state of Guerrero where not one single pig has been sold for the last three weeks.
Before the declaration of a flu emergency on April 23, the farmers of the state sold 1,120 pigs a day on an average, whereas now the sales are nil, declared Armando Cabrera Villela, president of the Guerrero Pig Producers' Council.
Villela said that the state risked losing 600 jobs in 105 farms.
Public misunderstanding behind dismal sales
Although health officials continue to stress that H1N1, formerly known as "swine flu", is not spread by pigs or eating pork, the pork industry is facing the brunt of public misunderstanding.
The incorrect reporting of the H1N1 flu as “swine” flu has compounded the problems of the pork industry. Education and information campaigns on the true facts about pork and H1N1 flu could minimize the H1N1 virus’s impact on the pork industry.
The common verdict is that pork producers should not panic. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has stated that trade bans on pork and pork products are unjustified. The organization declared that "there is no case of infection in animals confirmed in the zones where cases of human infection have been detected."
Pork production and exports in Mexico
In Mexico there are 6,000 swine producers who produce 1.2 million tons of meat per year.
Nearly 95 percent of the swine exports are aimed at Japan. Fortunately, these have not been stopped since both Mexican and Japanese authorities agreed there is no risk.
Japan receives 60,000 tons of swine meat produced in Mexico per year. The rest of the exports go to Korea and a small percentage to the United States.
