Belarus has lifted a ban on the import of feed and feed additives for animals from the Krasnodar Krai, North Ossetia, Saratov and Tambov Oblasts regions of Russia, reported local media BELTA, citing the Department of Veterinary and Food Control of the Ministry of Agriculture of Belarus.
According to the report, the decision has been made due to the absence of new cases of African swine fever (ASF) for more than 12 months in these territories.
At the same time Belarus kept in place the ban on the import of live pigs, pork and processed pork products from those regions. Moreover, the Belarus veterinary body kept in place the ban on import of feed components and premixes containing raw material from pigs, in particular meat-and-bone meal.
According to numerous reports compound feed production in Russia was the most common reason for the occurrence of ASF outbreaks, as the country’s veterinary services don’t conduct any control on the presence of ASF pathogen in feed production on the domestic market.
Simultaneously, Belarus also removed temporary restrictions on the import of veterinary controlled goods, including feed, from the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and the Amur Oblast due to absence of new cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).