There’s concern U.S. pork could be shut out of key export markets if African swine fever reaches Puerto Rico.
Northeast Iowa pork producer Mark Meirick says he’s heard foreign customers like China might stop importing pork from the U.S. if ASF is found in Puerto Rico because it’s a U.S. commonwealth.
“I’ve read that’s a possibility, and if that is true we have to really be careful because Puerto Rico is pretty close in that same Caribbean area.”
African swine fever was recently discovered in the Dominican Republic, marking the first time in nearly 40 years the virus has been confirmed in the Western Hemisphere.
