S’pore suspends Taiwan pork imports after African swine fever outbreak at Taichung pig farm

Ban on Taiwan pork products only affects 0.3% of Singapore’s total pork supply

Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) have imposed a temporary ban on pork and related imports from Taiwan.

This comes after an African swine fever outbreak in the city of Taichung last week.

African swine fever outbreak at Taichung pig farm

Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture confirmed last Wednesday (22 Oct) that an African swine fever outbreak had occurred at a Taichung pig farm that used kitchen waste as pig feed.

Starting noon that day, Taiwan imposed a five-day suspension on the transport and slaughter of pigs across the island.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture on Facebook

The usage of kitchen waste as pig feed was also fully banned, with authorities scheduled to review the situation every five days.

On Sunday (26 Oct), however, Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai announced that the suspension on pig transport and slaughter, as well as the ban on using kitchen waste as pig feed, would be extended by 10 days.

He also urged all government agencies and local authorities to work closely together and prevent the outbreak from spreading.

Taiwan pork imports temporarily banned in Singapore

In a joint statement to MS News, SFA and AVS said the import of pork and pork products has been suspended.

The ban applies to products that have not undergone virus inactivation treatment, such as raw pork.

SFA further revealed that the affected products only account for 0.3% of Singapore’s total pork supply.

The relevant agencies are working closely together and will continue to monitor the situation.

Source: Taiwan Today

SFA and AVS emphasised that African swine fever primarily affects domestic pigs and wild boars, does not infect humans, and poses no food safety risk.

There are also no reports of African swine fever in Singapore. 

In a separate statement, a FairPrice Group spokesperson told MS News that it has now stopped selling Taiwanese pork.

They also assured customers that the current pork supply is safe for consumption and compliant with food safety regulations.

Not the first time Singapore banned pork imports from Taiwan

This is not the first time Singapore has suspended pork imports from Taiwan.

In 1997, Singapore suspended Taiwanese pork imports after a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Taiwan. The ban was lifted in 2007.

Singapore imposed another ban in 2009 following a similar outbreak. Taiwan pork imports into Singapore only resumed in Nov 2024.