With the ongoing African swine fever epidemic and a challenging farming environment, successful pig production still hinges on robust basic management.

According to reports, German Minister of Food and Agriculture Julia Klöckner announced on September 10 that the German Federal Research Institute for Animal Health had detected the African swine fever virus in wild boar carcasses that day, marking Germany’s first confirmed case of the disease.

The recent reports of African swine fever have once again sounded the alarm for domestic pig farmers. Since the beginning of this year, in addition to Germany and Poland, cases have also been detected in Belgium, Hungary, and Romania, signaling that African swine fever is now spreading globally.

Q: With imported pork supply relatively tight, what is the outlook for domestic pork prices?

A: Prior to the outbreak, Heider, president of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association in Germany, stated that under the bilateral trade agreement, Germany would be prohibited from exporting pork to signatory countries upon detection of even a single case of African swine fever. According to reports, Germany is one of the world’s leading pork exporters and was a supplier to China in 2018; however, if the situation with swine disease in Germany fails to improve, its pork exports to China could face restrictions.

According to official data, since July, both the year-on-year and month-on-month levels of domestic live pig inventories have risen, with stockpiles now exceeding 70% of pre‑epidemic levels. However, in terms of actual production, the reproductive performance of gilts returning to the finishing phase remains subpar, with sow farrowing rates and piglet survival rates falling short of expectations. Moreover, the culling rate of sows is likely to increase over the next one to two years. Consequently, it will take a considerable amount of time for sow productivity to fully recover to pre‑epidemic levels.

Q: With harsh farming conditions, how should pig farms adjust their management strategies?

A: During the market’s peak, there was strong enthusiasm for expanding pig herds and resuming production, yet little attention was paid to herd health management. Sows, as the farm’s essential “workforce,” were not given due consideration; basic immunization, nutritional care, and fundamental welfare standards were all neglected, resulting in a surge this year of outbreaks such as porcine diarrhea, PRRS, and classical swine fever.

The increasing number of first‑parity sows is placing immense pressure on pig farms, particularly when it comes to controlling viral diarrhea in piglets—a challenge that has become urgently critical. Effective prevention and control of viral diarrhea hinge on vaccination; yet the persistent perception that vaccines are ineffective often stems from inappropriate strain selection and unsuitable vaccination protocols.

HuiZhong Bio has recently launched HuiFuning (a bivalent live vaccine against porcine transmissible gastroenteritis and porcine epidemic diarrhea) and HuiFuAn (a bivalent inactivated vaccine against porcine transmissible gastroenteritis and porcine epidemic diarrhea), both formulated with the latest circulating variant strains. By combining a live‑plus‑inactivated immunization regimen with a comprehensive disease‑prevention strategy, these products provide all‑round protection for swine herds.