Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic impact of an outbreak of African swine fever on the (a) pig industry and (b) related exports.

An outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) could have a significant impact on the UK’s £8 billion pig industry, as well as its annual pork and pork product exports worth £600 million. Exact costs to industry and on trade would be determined by a number of factors including geographic location, husbandry system, epidemiology of the outbreak and whether wildlife were involved.

The practical impacts of a reasonable worst-case scenario outbreak of ASF were assessed in 2023 for the National Risk Register which is available on GOV.UK.