African swine fever (ASF), known as "pig plague" with a 100% fatality rate in swine, has been detected in Spain for the first time in 30 years, prompting Korea to impose import restrictions on pork from the country, its second-largest supplier after the United States.
According to Business Times and other foreign media reports on January 4, the Spanish government announced that ASF was detected in wild boar carcasses in the Barcelona region. At least nine confirmed cases have been reported, marking Spain's first ASF outbreak since 1994.
While harmless to humans, ASF is fatal to pigs and highly contagious. With no available treatment or vaccine, containment requires culling nearby animals. During Korea's ASF outbreak in 2019, more than 300,000 pigs were culled.
Countries worldwide have moved to halt Spanish pork imports amid signs of the disease spreading. China has restricted imports of pork raised or slaughtered in the Barcelona region, while Japan and Mexico have imposed nationwide bans on Spanish pork. According to the Spanish government, one-third of all export certificates have been blocked by foreign governments. Foreign media reported that Spain's pork industry, worth 9 billion euros (approximately 15 trillion won, or $11 billion) annually, could face a crisis.
The Korean government has implemented import restrictions on pork from ASF-affected areas in Spain starting this month. However, regulatory measures could expand depending on the disease's spread. Reduced imports could affect domestic pork prices.
Korea imported 114,680 tons of pork from Spain this year, the second-highest volume after the United States at 185,597 tons. Imports have been increasing annually, driven by growing demand for premium products such as Iberico pork.
