Source:Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 4/10/19


The National Pork Producers Council's board of directors has decided to cancel World Pork Expo 2019 "out of an abundance of caution as African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread in China and other parts of Asia," the group said in a news release.

World Pork Expo, held each June at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, hosts some 20,000 visitors over three days, including individuals and exhibitors from ASF-positive regions.

"While an evaluation by veterinarians and other third-party experts concluded negligible risk associated with holding the event, we have decided to exercise extreme caution," said David Herring, NPPC president and a producer from Lillington, N.C. "The health of the U.S. swine herd is paramount. Prevention is our only defense against ASF and NPPC will continue to do all it can to prevent its spread to the United States."

The move will cost NPPC: The event is a "significant source of revenue" for the organization, spokesman Jim Monroe told Meatingplace, although he declined to provide details. "We’ll feel the impact but we remain financially sound to carry out our mission," he said. "What’s important is the health of the swine heard. We’ll continue to do what we do."

The National Pork Board offered a statement of support to NPPC: “We completely understand that to cancel World Pork Expo is a tough decision that no one wants to make,” said Steve Rommereim, Pork Board president and a pig farmer from Alcester, S.D., in a release. “But when it comes to the ongoing spread of African swine fever in Asia and Europe, caution must come first. We stand by our pig-farming partners in doing anything we can to stem the spread of this disease.”

Legislative action
The decision to cancel this year's World Pork Expo comes as more than 100 U.S pork producers gather in Washington, D.C., this week for NPPC's Legislative Action Conference. To augment the USDA's efforts to protect the United States from ASF and other animal diseases, U.S. pork producers are asking Congress to appropriate funding for 600 new U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture inspectors to further strengthen our defenses against African swine fever.

"Our farmers are highly export dependent," Herring said. "U.S. pork producers are already operating in very challenging financial conditions. The widespread presence of African swine fever in China's swine herd, the world's largest by far, takes the threat of this swine disease to an entirely new level. We ask all producers, travelers and the general public to recognize the heightened risk since the first outbreak was reported in China last year and to heed biosecurity protocols in support of U.S. agriculture."

ASF in Asia has spread from China to Vietnam and, more recently, Cambodia, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). "In the absence of an effective vaccine against ASF virus, prevention in countries free of the disease depends on stringent import policies, ensuring that neither infected live pigs nor pork products are introduced into areas free of ASF," the OIE said on its website. 

This item was updated to include the financial impact on NPPC and the Pork Board's statement.

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