African Swine Fever (ASF) can wipe out the pig breeding industry in an infected area and that is why the Croatian Agriculture Ministry and other authorities take this problem very seriously, enforcing tough, yet necessary measures, Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic said on Monday.

Asked about the ASF situation in Croatia, Vuckovic told the press that ASF is a big problem in all the countries where it has broken out and that in Croatia, although localised, it is still in an epidemic phase and the measures by the Ministry, the State Inspectorate and veterinarians must be implemented.

“This is certainly a difficult economic and social problem because African Swine Fever is not a zoonosis, it is not transmitted from animals to humans and does not affect the health of other animals, but it can completely wipe out the pig breeding industry,” the agriculture minister said.

“Given that the region where ASF appeared is a traditionally pig breeding region, the risk for Croatia is very high and the problem is being addressed with great caution. … The farms where pigs have been euthanised will not be able to operate for some time,” she added.

FM’s co-ownership of Agroproteinka company “not disputable”

Vuckovic was asked to comment on media reports that Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman is a co-owner of Agroproteinka, a company that disposes of the carcasses of euthanised pigs. The company has reportedly already made €7.5 million.

“There’s nothing disputable about it,” Vuckovic said, adding that Agroproteinka is the only company in Croatia that can do this job and that it was awarded a 10-year concession in a public tender in 2017 when she and Grlic-Radman were not ministers.

“Agroproteinka operates legally and its prices are legally based,” she said, noting that the costs of animal waste management have gone up considerably because of ASF.