Although France had planned to ban live pigs, pig byproducts and pig sperm from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Japan on Saturday, the country opted to table the embargo after learning that the European Union's regulatory body would be discussing a potential response to virus on Tuesday.
"The European Commission having decided to call a meeting tomorrow in Bruxelles to make a collective decision for E.U. regarding this [virus], we have decided to postpone the publication of our decision," Juliette Angelergues, a representative for France's Ministry of Agriculture, told Law360 on Monday.
A spokesperson for the health commissioner for the European Commission, John Dalli, confirmed that the members of the EU will discuss a response to the virus — known as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) — on Tuesday.
"The member states and the commission will indeed discuss tomorrow potential measures which could be adopted as a response to the pig disease in North America," Health Commission spokesperson Frederic Vincent told Law360 in an email.
France had intended to ban swine from North America and Japan in an effort to isolate its farms from PEDv, which has affected pigs in the U.S. for roughly a year. Piglets are disproportionately affected by the virus and have a very high fatality rate, according to the National Pork Producers Council.
During a hearing held by a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, NPPC President Howard Hill said that by this summer, the virus might reduce the number of slaughter-eligible pigs in the U.S. by as much 10 percent, relative to last year.
PEDv, which is transmitted primarily through contaminated manure or animal feed, was first reported in the U.S. in the spring of 2013. Some pork economists have estimated that roughly 2.6 million sows and 3.6 million piglets have been infected, with most of the infected piglets perishing, according to Hill.
In mid-April, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would start requiring pork producers to report any outbreaks of PEDv, as well another virus affecting pigs called the Swine Delta Coronavirus, which was detected in February.
Although PEDv is reportedly not a threat to humans, it has affected pigs in at least 30 states, according to the NPPC. The cause of the virus is unknown, but the first U.S. strain of PEDv was allegedly 99.4 percent similar to a Chinese isolate, the pork council said.
In addition to France, several other countries have already placed bans on live pigs from the U.S., including China and Japan, a spokesperson from the USDA told Law360 on Friday. A "farm freedom statement" is also required for U.S. exports of live swine into Mexico.
The European Union has yet to issue unified suspension of U.S. hogs, and France's ban would not include pork meat meant for human consumption due to the virus's reported inability to harm humans. But although PEDv does not affect human health, the virus's impact on the U.S. pig population may affect consumers prices.
In his testimony before the House agriculture subcommittee on Wednesday, NCPP President Hill said that due to the loss of pigs from PEDv, U.S. hog prices could rise between 15 and 25 percent, bringing consumer prices up by 10 to 12 percent.
--Editing by Philip Shea.
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