LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Friday it would temporarily stop imports of pork meat from parts of Spain after the country confirmed its first cases of African swine fever in just over three decades.
Britain is one of Spain's main customers for pork, and the move comes as authorities in Madrid activated emergency measures in Catalonia, a region central to pig farming.
"Following an outbreak of African Swine Fever in Spain, all fresh pork and other affected products from Spain will be held at Border Control Posts until further notice," Britain's environment department (DEFRA) said in a statement.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and keep all measures under review," it added.
Spain exported 37,600 metric tons of fresh and frozen pork to Britain so far in 2025, worth over 112 million euros ($129.93 million), up 17% in volume and 9.5% in value compared with all of 2024, according to data from the government-backed body the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
The virus is a highly contagious disease that affects pigs and wild boar but poses no risk to humans. It has no vaccine or cure and often leads to mass culling when detected in farmed herds.
The disease has spread westwards in Europe in recent years, disrupting pork markets and prompting trade bans. Germany's outbreak in 2020 led to sweeping restrictions from major buyers such as China, while Croatia has battled infections in recent months.
Spain, the European Union's top pork producer, has so far avoided the virus in domestic pigs since 1994, making the latest detection in wild boar near Barcelona a significant concern for its 8-billion-euro ($9.28 billion) pork industry and export markets.
Britain's government earlier this year banned personal imports of ham and other meat and dairy products from all EU countries to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, following a rising number of cases.
($1 = 0.8620 euros)
(Reporting by Disha Mishra, Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru and Sam Tabahriti in London; Editing by Chris Reese)
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Holiday travel: Best days to hit the road as 110 million Americans expected to drive over Christmas and New Year's - 2Meet the rescue team behind the astronauts as Artemis II's launch approaches
- 3Russian military plane crashes in annexed Crimea, killing 29 people on board
- 4Americans generally like wolves − except when we’re reminded of our politics
- 5The most effective method to Pick the Right Old Consideration Administration: Key Contemplations
- Pick Your Number one sort of blossom
- Every year, she thanks the trooper for the arrest that led to her sobriety
- He made a name for himself posting thirst traps on TikTok. Now he's the star of a wildly popular rom-com.
- The Century Coupe Could Be Toyota’s Most Ambitious Car Since the LFA
- Climate leaders are talking about 'overshoot' into warming danger zone. Here's what it means
- Artemis II astronauts channel Apollo 8 with a striking Earthset photo
- How did Hugh Jackman nail his latest role? Sequins, tighty-whities and embracing 'zero embarrassment.'
- Potential Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping could further damage global economy
- Two Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed in explosion in Lebanon
