Aspects Regarding the Evolution of African Swine Fever in Romania

Abstract

The global spread of African swine fever (ASF) is a threat to the livestock sector with potentially serious consequences for food security. The article proposes an analysis of ASF in Romania from the perspective of the evolution of the number of outbreaks and their impact on the number of pigs, the production obtained and the delivery price. The analysis is based on data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority. The data indicate that in order to prevent the spread of ASF, 1,208,229 swine heads affected by the disease were eliminated (of which approximately 60,000 breeding sows), the total compensation to the affected owners being 890,880 thousand lei. The impact of the ASF on the pig farming sector translates into a decrease in total herds by 22.6%, a decrease in total meat production by 15.3% and an increase by 16.5% in the average purchase price per kg live weight.