The Ministry of Agriculture announced today that Taiwan is expected to receive the "non-epidemic status for swine fever" certificate at this week's WOAH conference, making it the only country in Asia to be recognized as non-epidemic for the three major swine diseases: swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, and African swine fever.

Having been a year since the last outbreak of swine fever, Taiwan submitted its application for non-epidemic status to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) last year. If granted the certification, Taiwan will stand as the sole non-epidemic nation in Asia for these major diseases. The Taiwan Swine Association expressed its enthusiasm for this development, anticipating that it would pave the way for greater exports of domestic pork to advanced markets such as Singapore and Japan.

During the ongoing WOAH conference in Paris, the Director of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, Hsueh Jung-bin, stated that Taiwan is expected to receive the certificate this week. The president of the Taiwan Swine Association, Pan Lian-chou, noted that with countries now accustomed to consuming cheap frozen pork, there is significant potential for Taiwan's fresh pork exports, which benefit from a technology that allows for a seven-day shelf life.

Currently, fresh pork from Taiwan is sold for approximately NT$700 per kilogram in Singapore, while the price for spare ribs is NT$500 per kilogram, indicating robust demand. It is believed that achieving non-epidemic status will provide further advantages for exporting to Singapore.