Taipei, March 19 (CNA) The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Wednesday said that Taiwan will likely be recognized as classical swine fever (CSF)-free by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in May.
The MOA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA) Director-General Hsu Jung-pin (徐榮彬) told CNA that Taiwan’s application for recognition has been approved by the WOAH’s Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases.
The application is currently in the WOAH’s 60-day review period, Hsu said.
If no other member countries of the WOAH object, Taiwan’s CSF-free status will be officially passed during the organization’s General Session of the World Assembly of Delegates at the end of May, Hsu said.
It is very likely that Taiwan will pass, as objecting countries must submit scientific evidence to back any objections, Hsu added.
CSF is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease that poses a great threat to the pig farming industry, the APHIA said.
The APHIA said that Taiwan eliminated its last case of CSF in 2005, after which it facilitated multiple measures to control the spread of the disease, including vaccine immunity, monitoring and reporting, and strengthening biosecurity measures.
In July 2023, Taiwan stopped CSF vaccinations and set up a monitoring mechanism to evaluate whether Taiwan is free of the CSF virus, while border quarantine was strengthened, the APHIA said.
After monitoring and rigorous evaluation of whether Taiwan was eligible to apply to be recognized as a CSF-free country, an application was submitted to the WOAH in August 2024, the APHIA said.
The WOAH’s panel of experts reviewed and determined that the quarantine strategies and monitoring data submitted by Taiwan conformed with the Terrestrial Animal Health Code’s standards for CSF-free countries, and approved the application on Feb. 20, 2025, according to the APHIA.
The MOA said that if Taiwan receives CSF-free certification, it will be the only country in Asia to be free from CSF, foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever.
Once CSF-free status is achieved, Taiwan may go into talks about quarantine conditions to export pork into Japan, the MOA said.
Taiwan has been promoting pork dishes made with Taiwanese pork in Japan’s market in recent years, piquing the interest of Japanese businesses, said Hung Hsiao-chun (洪曉君), the deputy head of the MOA’s Department of International Affairs.
