German farmers call for trade rule change as swine fever nears

BERLIN (Reuters) - German farmers on Thursday said a ban on pork exports should not be automatically imposed if a case of African swine fever (ASF) is found in wild boar in the country.

The spread of the disease in east Europe is causing immense concern in Germany, whose pork industry has been developing major exports to countries including China.

Restrictions on pork exports if the disease is discovered in Germany could cause a huge fall in prices which could force many farmers out of business, said German farming association president Joachim Rukwied.

Trade restrictions should only be imposed if ASF is found in a farm pig, Rukwied said during the Green Week food trade fair.

Germany, a major European Union pig producer, has been watching with growing concern as the highly contagious disease spreads westward across Europe.

Wild boars, suspected of spreading the disease, have been found infected in the Czech Republic and Poland. Backyard pigs were found with the disease in Romania this month.

German farmers have called for 70 percent of the country’s large wild boar population to be culled to prevent the disease spreading to farm animals.

But German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt said he would not press for a change in trade rules. Germany could not by-pass European Union rules on the disease, Schmidt said separately at the trade fair.

(Reporting by Hans-Edzard Busemann, writing by Michael Hogan, editing by Jeremy Gaunt)