Romania and Bulgaria seek Brussels’ approval to resume live pig exports

Risks related to swine fever are one of the most important issues raised by Romanian and Bulgarian government officials,  according to Vladimir Mănăstireanu, president of Romania’s National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), speaking to local news agency Agerpres. Bulgarian officials have proposed organising a joint meeting in Bucharest, with the participation of experts from the European Commission, to discuss issues related to sanitary conditions of live pig exports, Mănăstireanu said. The meeting will most likely be organised this summer.

In addition, a working meeting of government officials from Bulgaria and Romania is expected to take place this February or March.

Meanwhile, Romania’s Pork Meat Producers’ Association (APRCPR) has issued a statement in which it praised the efforts by the ANSVSA and the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development (MADR), saying they were rightly focused on enhancing the “biosecurity system at national and transborder level”.​ The association said the most important challenges to be resolved by the government included strengthening controls on the movement of pigs between farms.

The export ban imposed on the country’s meat industry has already been partially lifted. On 1 January, Romania resumed the export of pork products to other EU countries after the restrictions from 2003 were lifted by the European Commission in November 2013. In 2003, Romanian pork exports totalled some 478,669t, according to information obtained by Agerpres. The last outbreaks of swine fever in Romania were reported in 2007.

Based in Bucharest, Romania, and established in 1991, the industry association said it represents the interests of more than 100 entities involved in pig breeding, slaughter, pork meat processing, provision of services and research in the Romanian market.