ASF vaccine importer denies black market caused virus spread

MANILA, Philippines — The importer of the African swine fever vaccine countered the claim of farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura chairman Rosendo So that the sale of ASF vaccine in the black market was the cause of the spread of the virus in the country.

In an interview with The STAR, KPP Powers Commodities Inc. legal counsel and spokesman Reynaldo Robles said the ASF outbreak in the country started in 2020, adding that the company was able to secure a special permit from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct field trials in the Philippines.

“We don’t sell in the market. In fact, this is not available in the small-scale markets. The claim that it was the cause of the outbreak is really an attempt to sabotage the impending issuance of certificate of product registration of the government on the vaccine,” Robles said.

So has blamed the spread of ASF on the illegal sale of 300,000 vials of ASF vaccine.

“This is impossible as the outbreak started way back in 2020,” Robles added.

For his part, KPP head Juancho Robles said that the vaccine, which is manufactured in Vietnam, has undergone rigid farm trials in 550 farms involving more than 600,000 doses in various regions in Vietnam under the scrutiny of their Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the US Department of Agriculture and the World Health Organization for Animals.

“In fact, the Vietnam government has authorized the nationwide use of the ASF vaccine in their country since July 2023,” Robles, brother of the legal counsel, said.

He said the FDA also issued a special import permit for 300,000 doses for large-scale commercial trials at qualified large farms only.

“The proponents of the vaccine confirmed that there have been no untoward incidents reported regarding the trials. Based on the vaccine protocols, the distribution of the vaccine is strictly monitored and reports and confirmation of participation are required from farms that signed up for the trials for monitoring and tracking purposes,” he added.

According to Robles, all vaccines are accounted for by KPP as an exclusive distributor of the vaccine in the Philippines.

“It has also come to the attention of KPP that some unscrupulous groups have been smuggling fake ASF vaccines and claiming these vaccines are the same ones from Vietnam. It is unfortunate that many farmers are being deceived by these groups, resulting in unmitigated pig deaths,” Robles noted.

He added that local agricultural and regulatory authorities are apparently trying to find a way to speed up the approval process for the vaccine so that pig farmers can avail themselves of a safe and effective vaccine to save the country’s swine industry.