TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The risk of products contaminated by African swine fever being brought in from China and Southeast Asia is still high, the government said Friday, despite the number of pork import fines dropping by almost 80% over two years.
The caution comes in the run-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival when mooncakes are a popular present. Some types of cake contain pork, making them subject to fines imposed to prevent the resurgence of the fever.
Taiwan is one of the few countries in Asia free of all three major pig diseases: classical swine fever, African swine fever, and foot and mouth disease.
Bringing pork products into Taiwan either in one’s luggage or by mail, will incur a fine of NT$200,000 (US$6,500). A second violation will incur a fine of NT$1 million, per CNA.
The number of violations declined from 3.77 per 10,000 travelers in 2019 to 0.79 last month, according to the Central Emergency Response Center for African Swine Fever.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that tests of pork product samples from China, Vietnam, and Thailand showed traces of the fever, indicating the risk of infection is still high. Data also revealed that the Mid-Autumn Festival saw a peak of pork imports, with mooncakes as the top product.
Of the 9,076 items tested between August 2018 and the end of August this year, 949 tested positive for African swine fever. China was responsible for 806 or 84.9% of the positive cases, according to the response center.
