Paul Anderson, Genesus Southeast Asia
Paul.Anderson_GenesusSoutheastAsia@outlook.com
Philippines
ASF Vaccine
The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) to a Vietnam-produced ASF Vaccine. Issuing a CPR by the FDA is a green light that a company can now market, import, export, distribute, and sell the approved product. Hence, the conditional CPR is “approved for restricted use only by the Department of Agriculture (DA) with the validity of two years.”
The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to inoculate hogs in areas with active cases of African Swine fever (ASF) as it began the vaccination of pigs in Lobo town in Batangas province. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said a controlled trial of Vietnam-developed live vaccines will be conducted in Lobo, the ground zero of swine fever resurgence in the country, before moving to nearby areas. For the initial government-controlled vaccination, doses of ASF vaccines were administered to 41 hogs from two farms in Barangay Malapad na Parang in Lobo town. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Constante Palabrica said inoculated pigs will be observed to check their conditions. The DA carried out the controlled vaccine administration to curb the spread of the animal disease five years after the country’s first ASF outbreak.
According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr, providers of vaccines against African Swine fever (ASF) from four countries are seeking the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval. Sec. Laurel said the makers of six vaccine brands filed their application with the FDA earlier this year. Sec. Laurel instructed the BAI to expand its controlled testing of the ASF vaccine to additional areas in Luzon and regions designated as red zones in the Visayas and Mindanao islands. He said commercial pig farms located in areas with numerous infections would also receive ASF vaccines to safeguard their herd from the disease.
1st Golden Harvesta Swine Technical Forum
The Golden Harvesta Inc. – Genesus Philippines will be holding the 1st Golden Harvesta Swine Technical Forum on November 7, 2024 (Thursday) at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, with the theme,
ASF: Fight or Flight?
Conquering Through Knowledge and Technology
This invite-only forum will feature esteemed farm owners and technical experts who will share and discuss updates on the current ASF situation, effective and practical biosecurity practices, quick and accurate diagnostic techniques, careful extraction procedures, and vaccination.
Vietnam
The price of the pig now is 64,000 – 67,000 vnd/kg in the North; 62,000 – 66,000 vnd/kg in the center; and 63,000 – 65,000 vnd/kg in the South. Average will be around 64,000/kg. More detail, please see the link: https://vietnambiz.vn/gia-heo-hoi-hom-nay-169-thuong-lai-tai-ha-noi-thu-mua-cao-nhat-ca-nuoc-202491518397564.htm.
According to the latest records, pork prices at WinMart today increased for most items. Of which, pork belly recorded the highest increase, up 9,600 VND/kg, to 165,522 VND/kg (Source: https://vietnambiz.vn/gia-thit-heo-hom-nay-169-winmart-quay-tro-lai-da-tang-202491675628198.htm).
Vietnam: Animal feed imports in the first 7 months of 2024 worth over 2.91 billion USD (Source: https://www.3tres3.com/vn/Tin-tức-ngành-heo/nhập-khẩu-thức-ăn-gia-suc-trong-7t-2024-trị-gia-tren-2-91-tỷ-usd_1246/).
Vietnam spent about 970 million USD importing meat and meat products in the first 8 months of 2024 (Source: https://www.3tres3.com/vn/Tin-tức-ngành-heo/việt-nam-đã-chi-hơn-1-tỷ-usd-để-nhập-khẩu-cac-loại-thịt-trong-8-thang_1242/).
What did the Philippine enterprise say about the vaccine against a dangerous disease in pigs that is currently only produced by Vietnam?
After directly inspecting the production line of African Swine Fever vaccine before importing 150,000 doses, Pinky Pe Tobiano, executive director of KPP Powers Commodities Inc (Philippines), highly praised the protection quality of the vaccine against this dangerous disease in pigs, which until now is only produced by Vietnam.
Before importing 150,000 doses of the African Swine Fever vaccine “made in Vietnam”, on August 26, representatives of the Philippine vaccine importing enterprise and Mr. Engr. Rosendo O. So, the chairman of SINAG – a reputable agricultural group consisting of experts and advisers with significant influence on food security and sustainable development of the Philippines, directly went to the factory of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company in Hung Yen, the unit supplying African swine fever vaccines to the Philippines this time, to inspect the production line as well as the production capacity of the enterprise.
It is known that the batch of 150,000 doses of African Swine Fever vaccine that AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company will export to the Philippines on August 29 is part of the 600,000 doses of African swine fever vaccine that the Philippine government has ordered from Vietnam after this type of vaccine was allowed to circulate in the Philippines since July 2024.
Representatives of the Philippine vaccine importing enterprise and the reputable agricultural group of the Philippines, which consists of experts and advisers with significant influence on food security and sustainable development of the Philippines, inspected the vaccine production line of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company in Hung Yen.
The Philippines’ decision to administer the African swine fever vaccine of Vietnamese enterprises to pigs is the result of negotiations and cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Philippines in an effort to share scientific research results and jointly protect the health of livestock and human health with the world community.
Pinky Pe Tobiano, executive director of KPP Powers Commodites Inc, and the reputable agricultural group of the Philippines are very surprised by the modern and advanced production line of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company.
“The cooperation results between our enterprise and AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company today are all based on scientific grounds and foundations that are implemented very strictly and systematically. In fact, we have had a very serious process of evaluating the protective efficacy of the African swine fever vaccine. The evaluation results on safety, protective efficacy, research records, and the data we received are all very good. The registration progress is in line with the requirements of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, we decided to import this type of vaccine to protect the livestock industry from the attack of epidemic diseases.”
The executive director of KPP Powers Commodites Inc also said that her enterprise was directly introduced to the African swine fever vaccine “made in Vietnam” by the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines and immediately contacted AVAC for negotiation. After that, the two sides carried out careful tests and evaluations.
For more information on the effectiveness of the African swine fever vaccine, Dr. Nguyen Van Diep, general director of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company, said that after more than one year of being licensed for circulation, AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company has brought 2 million doses to the domestic market and exported 305,000 doses, including 300,000 doses to the Philippines and 5,000 doses to Nigeria; more than 1 million doses have been sold to large companies such as C.P.
It is noteworthy that since July 2023, AVAC has supplied more than 250,000 doses to agricultural service centers and sub-departments in counties across the country. All pigs after being vaccinated are closely monitored and sampled for antibody titer testing 28 days after vaccination. The result: 250,000 doses administered are all safe, and the antibody titer reaches more than 90%. That is the reason why recently, various provinces have boldly used local budgets or social resources to introduce AVAC’s ASF vaccine into epidemic prevention and control work.
In the Philippines, in mid-August 2024, the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Food and Drug Administration announced the deployment of the African swine fever (ASF) vaccine in the third quarter of 2024.
Accordingly, in a joint press conference, Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. announced that the Department of Agriculture is “finalizing guidelines for relevant parties in the agricultural and veterinary fields on the controlled use of ASF vaccines, and then will seek public opinion” through the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
The deployment is completely voluntary and will currently prioritize qualified commercial farms, commercial sales enterprises, and clustered farms, especially those in red and pink zones, under the strict combined supervision of DA – BAI.
As of July 14, the National ASF Prevention and Control Program (NASFPCP) of DA – BAI has reported 403 red zones and 737 pink zones in the Philippines.
It is expected that about 150,000 doses of AVAC ASF Live out of a total of 600,000 doses according to the DA’s target will arrive in the Philippines in the third quarter of 2024. The AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine is developed by AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company and is for pigs aged 4 weeks and above. It is recommended to be administered in a single dose and has a protection period of at least five months.
According to the explanation of FDA General Director Samuel Zacate, among the vaccine candidates currently in the testing process, AVAC has demonstrated the highest effectiveness compared to possible risks.
A total of 350 million pesos has been allocated by the DA for the purchase of vaccines, syringes, and other necessities for the deployment of the ASF vaccine. “The purchase of this vaccine demonstrates the DA’s commitment to protecting the pig farming industry and strengthening national food security amid many challenges from ASF,” Secretary Tiu Laurel said.
Vietnam will export 150,000 doses of African swine fever vaccine to the Philippines.
A batch of 150,000 doses of African swine fever (ASF) vaccine developed by Avac Vietnam Joint Stock Company will be exported to the Philippines on August 29.
This batch is part of a total of 600,000 doses of Avac ASF Live that the Philippine government ordered after allowing it to circulate in the country since July 2024.
On August 26, a delegation from the Philippines came to inspect the storage warehouse of Avac’s factory in Hung Yen. Mr. Engr. Rosendo O. So, Chairman of Sinag, and Mrs. Pinky Pe Tobiano, Executive Director of KPP Powers Commodites Inc. – the unit importing Avac’s African swine fever vaccine, said that the purpose of this visit is to supervise and help distinguish in the future between the vaccines purchased by the Philippine government and smuggled vaccines.
Currently, Vietnam is the only country to have successfully researched, developed and commercialized this type of vaccine. Dr. Nguyen Van Diep, general director of Avac Vietnam, said that the Philippines is the second country after Vietnam to allow the circulation of African swine fever vaccine.
“The Philippine government hopes to solve ASF through the vaccine solution,” said Engr. Rosendo O. So.
According to Pinky Pe Tobiano, currently all evaluations on safety, protective efficacy and research records, and all data from cooperation with Avac Vietnam are guaranteed. The registration progress is in line with the requirements of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration. All decisions are made based on scientific basis and evidence.
In addition to the Philippines, Nigeria has also placed an order to import 5,000 doses for evaluation. Countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Nepal, and Myanmar are in the process of registration.
Staff members are counting Avac ASF Live vaccines in the warehouse. Photo: Quynh Trang.
According to Dr. Diep, proactive domestic production helps Vietnam have a strategic and sharp export product, creating opportunities for subsequent products.
Avac spent nearly three years researching and successfully developing and bringing the vaccine to the market. Dr. Diep, the team leader, said that when conducting post-doctoral research in Japan, he was introduced to participate in the African swine fever project. After returning to the country, he and his colleagues began research. “We have conducted more than 115 animal experiments, many laboratory experiments, sequenced genes, continuously improved strains and vaccine production processes to create the best processes,” he emphasized.
The vaccine developed by the group was licensed in July 2023. After that, Avac has supplied nearly 300,000 doses of Avac ASF Live vaccine to Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Lai Chau… Pigs after being vaccinated are monitored and sampled for inspection 28 days after vaccination. All vaccinated pigs are healthy and there is no outbreak at any site.
Currently, Avac Vietnam can supply about 2-5 million doses per month. With this capacity, it is sufficient to supply to the Vietnamese market and some Southeast Asian countries.
The leaders of Avac Vietnam said that currently there is no global standard for African swine fever vaccine. “This is a barrier that makes some countries still waiting for standards to evaluate this vaccine,” Mr. Diep said, and added that it is expected that there will be standards for African swine fever vaccine in 2025 so that countries can have guidelines for establishing their own safety procedures.
Avac ASF Live vaccine is an attenuated freeze-dried vaccine cultured on DMAC cell line. This vaccine is recommended to be administered in a single dose and has a protection period of at least five months. Currently, the price of one dose of vaccine for pigs is from 61,000 to 69,000 dong per dose. According to Mr. Diep, this price is high, so the company plans to have a price reduction roadmap after the commercialization period to be suitable for breeders.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first seven months of 2024, there were 632 outbreaks of African swine fever in 44 provinces and cities across the country, forcing the destruction of more than 40,500 pigs. Compared to the same period in 2023, the number of African swine fever outbreaks increased 2.4 times and the number of pigs that died and were forced to be destroyed increased 3.25 times.
In Vietnam, in addition to Avac, Navetco and Dabaco are also researching African swine fever vaccine.
We hope to meet you at VIETSTOCK 2024 on the 9-11 October in HCMC, Vietnam.
Thailand
Thai pig producers are closer to breakeven
A glut of live pigs will continue to pose a threat to pig producers in Thailand, although the price is getting close to a breakeven point.
The glut stems from a sizable herd expansion by major producers over the past two years and smuggled frozen pork that remains lingering in the country after a clampdown on smugglers late last year.
Livestock department reported that Thailand is expected to produce 22 million pigs by the end of the year from an estimated of 1.05 million sows.
However, only 18.2 million heads would be consumed throughout the year, leaving a surplus of 3.8 million pigs in the country.
The production loss gets narrower in the third quarter as the price of live pigs is slightly higher than the cost. Currently, the cost is around THB 76.25/kg (USD 2.29), down 4% year-on-year, while the ex-farm price is THB 75/kg (USD 2.26), up 15% year-on-year.
To fix the oversupply, the department joins force with the Thai Swine Raisers Association, national representative of pig farmers, to downsize sow herds from farms with over 1000 sows across the country. The two parties target to reduce 76,848 sows throughout the year.
At the same time, they also ask the major producers to voluntarily cut supplies of piglets weight 3-7kg to make roasted suckling pigs, targeting at 75,000 heads in the year
All the measures to stabilize the pig price are starting to bear fruit and hopefully it would make the producers to gain profit in the first quarter next year.
