Taipei: Taiwan's government is poised to make a critical decision regarding the potential lifting of a nationwide ban on the transportation and slaughtering of pigs, a measure initially implemented to combat an African swine fever outbreak, Premier Cho Jung-tai announced on Tuesday. The ban, which began on October 22, followed the discovery of infected pig carcasses at a farm in the Wuqi District of Taichung.

According to Focus Taiwan, the African Swine Fever Forward Command Center is set to make an official announcement on Wednesday at noon. Premier Cho addressed the possibility of lifting the ban as planned on Friday but emphasized that a ban on feeding pigs with kitchen waste will remain. This measure is tied to an investigation that linked the disease outbreak to improper waste handling.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has outlined several preconditions that need to be met before the ban on feeding pigs with swill can be lifted. These include a joint inspection by the Ministry of Environment and the MOA, along with comprehensive safety checks on cooking equipment and the number of pigs at the 434 farms currently involved in kitchen waste feeding. The MOA also demands real-time monitoring of cooking equipment, moving away from the previous practice where farm operators uploaded their own data.

Should the ban on transportation and slaughtering be lifted, the Executive Yuan plans to prioritize stabilizing the primary production chain, regulating pork prices, and ensuring a consistent meat supply. Premier Cho indicated that these efforts would be assessed weekly to guarantee a return to normalcy within the next month.