TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan authorities on Friday (Feb. 10) announced that importing pork products from Singapore will be subject to heavy fines after African swine fever (ASF) was discovered in the country.
Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks) said the virus was detected in a wild boar carcass in the northwestern region on Tuesday (Feb. 7). There are no pig farms in Singapore for pork production, it added, and a bio-surveillance system has been put in place.
The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) was notified of the case on Thursday (Feb. 9).
That ASF made its way into Singapore, which imports most of its pork, indicates the continued spread of the virus in Asia, Liberty Times quoted the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) as saying. It is the 17th country Asian country to have reported ASF.
As such, those who import, bring in, or ship in pork products from Singapore will be fined NT$200,000 (US$6,634) for a first-time violation and NT$1 million for repeat offenses, CEOC warned. Arrivals who break the law will be denied entry and repatriated if they fail to pay the fine.
Contraband includes pork jerky, sausages, ham, pork instant noodles, pork-based canned food, pork floss egg rolls, and bak kut teh soup packs.
Singapore has been put on the list of countries from which passengers’ luggage and international parcels undergo vigorous X-ray inspection since 2019, as with all other countries in Southeast Asia.
ASF-affected Asian countries now include China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, East Timor, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Bhutan, Thailand, Nepal, and Singapore.