The EU limits the radius of restrictions for African swine fever in the area of infection, and Osona and Segrià can export

BrusselsThe European Commission has limited the radius of restrictions imposed due to the African swine fever outbreak in Catalonia to the area closest to the infection, excluding the key regions of Osona and Segrià, where a significant portion of the country's pig farming sector is concentrated. The decision was published this Thursday. Official Journal of the European Union After a European Commission delegation traveled to Catalonia on Wednesday and set limits on pork exports, the perimeter affected by the restrictions defines which areas can export to other European countries and will affect any regionalization that non-EU countries might implement. Sources from the European Commission explained to ARA that, although the decision is based solely on health factors, it directly indicates the list of territories with which the sector can trade. Thus, farms in, for example, Osona, Segrià, and almost all of Bages will be able to continue selling to all member states of the European bloc. In any case, it should be remembered that the ban on exports to countries outside the European Union initially affects all of Catalonia and Spain, and that the Ministry of Agriculture must negotiate regionalization on a state-by-state basis so that farms not located in areas affected by African swine fever can continue exporting.

In fact, the Spanish government is already negotiating with several countries to which the Catalan and national pork sector exports substantially, although countries like Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Mexico do not have regionalization agreements with Spain, and exports had to be halted. However, China, which is key for the Catalan pork sector, announced shortly after the outbreak in Collserola that it would continue buying pork from unaffected areas.

Following Brussels' emergency decision this Thursday, the next step is for the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed to ratify or modify the European Commission's decision at its next meeting, which will take place on December 16 and 17. However, the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union mandates that the measures taken by the EU executive must be implemented "immediately" in the infected area until the committee's final opinion is issued. "Due to the urgency of the epidemiological situation [...] it is important that control measures be implemented as soon as possible," the legal text adds.