RP to resume talks for pork exports to Singapore

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines wants to resume talks for the export of Philippine produced pork to Singapore following a report that at least six local farms have been found negative for the Ebola antigen.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Dr. Efren C. Nuestro said the BAI is drafting a letter to Singapore seeking a resumption of negotiations for the export of Philippine pork products to the island state.

The Philippines had been on the cusp of exporting pork products to Singapore in 2008 when an Ebola antigen was detected at a hog farm in Luzon.

The Ebola scare prompted the BAI to quarantine and then force the hog farm in Bulacan to destroy its entire hog production to prevent the transmission of the Ebola virus.

An international team from the World Health Organization and the Organization Internationale de Epizooties (OIE) or World Animal Health Organization visited the Philippines to assess the Ebola findings.

The Ebola antigen was suspected to have come from fruit bat droppings that may have been ingested by the hogs in the farm.

Even though the planned pork exports to Singapore were to have come from Mindanao, negotiations with Singapore were suspended.

Almost two years since, the BAI, having secured the necessary test kits from the US Center for Disease Control, recently tested at least six hog farms. The test results showed that the tested animals were negative for the Ebola antigen.

The Philippines is now trying to restart negotiations that would enable the export of pork products to Singapore.