The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) spoke in front of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food yesterday.

Second Vice Chair René Roy talked about the very real threat posed by African swine fever (ASF) and its potential impact on the Canadian economy.

He noted that ASF is not a food safety issue but rather a virus that affects pigs, adding an outbreak would close export markets, destroying a $24 billion sector. Canada’s pork sector exports 70% of its production.

The pork sector believes there are four key priorities to address including eradicating wild pigs, enhancing biosecurity measures, strengthening traceability, biosecurity and surveillance systems and improving communication.

CPC is asking the federal government for funding to address these immediate priorities.

The group also wants to see Minister Bibeau move ahead with the establishment of the National Pork Promotion and Research Agency.

Rick Bergmann, CPC Chair, noted the need for increased resources.

“To date, our response has been to simply roll up our sleeves and work a little harder," he said. "Very few new resources, apart from the detector dogs, have been brought to the battle. While this has yielded good results over the short-term, it is not sustainable.”

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will be implementing an ASF surveillance plan, which will be operational later this spring.