Japan suspends German pork imports after African swine fever case

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan suspended imports of pork and live pigs from Germany on Friday after a case of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed in a wild boar in eastern Germany, the agriculture ministry said.

China and South Korea also banned such imports after Germany said last Thursday that ASF had been found in a dead wild boar near its border with Poland.

Japan's action aims to keep out the disease, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Pork imports of 40,240 tonnes from Germany last year accounted for 3.3% of Japan's total imports of 1.2 million tonnes of the meat, the ministry said. Japan did not import any live pigs in 2019, down from six in 2018.

 

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)