Aflame with African Swine Fever: Vietnam’s Pork Purgatory
The devastation is real. Vietnam’s farming community is waving a flag of alarm as the African swine fever (ASF) rolls across the country, forcing farmers to cull three times the pig count from last year.
Where the fire is spreading
- ASF now blankets 2,275 infection sites.
- It has invaded 57 out of Vietnam’s 63 provinces and cities.
- Farmers have already placed 230,000 hogs on the chopping block.
Familiar foe
ASF was born in Africa, then made a global pilgrimage. It’s harmless to humans but usually shows up as a deadly surprise for pigs—killing hundreds of millions worldwide.
A quick timeline
In Feb 2019, Vietnam first spotted the virus in its hog herd, forcing a cull that wiped out about 20% of the livestock and doubling pork prices early last year.
The outbreak cooled down toward the end of last year and the start of this year, giving the industry a breather. But that calm is now shattered.
Feel the heat and hear the farms go quiet
Farmers are juggling the daily grind with the exhausting task of scanning for affected pigs. They’re describing the situation like an ever‑spreading wildfire—“It’s constantly evolving, and a big swarm of pigs could be on the horizon.”
For now, the pork market is bracing for another surge in price, while farmers work to rebuild their herds, hoping the next season holds a hopeful outlook.
