Meat prices take a tumble amid swine fever outbreak

The prices of meat products in Estonia will drop due to the outbreak of African swine fever in the country, Agriculture Minister Ivar Padar has said.

African swine fever, a disease which causes mass death rates in pigs, was recorded in Estonia after being detected on a baby wild boar earlier this year. 

"Prices have fallen for meat, milk and as well as grain. We are in the falling market phase," said Padar, referring to recent Russian sanctions on Western products and the outbreak of swine fever.

On Monday, six wild boars were registered as being infected with swine fever. No cases of swine fever have been registered on pig farms yet.

"We have to reasonably revise our methods of hunting and keep our barns safe," Padar said.

The agriculture minister also after added that infected meat would not be sold in supermarkets or elsewhere. 

Padar said that difficult times await the dairy and fisheries industries as well since larger subsidies cannot be expected in the near future or next year.

"There are certainly no possibilities for big increases because we cannot forget the overall context, which is that the world around us has gone crazy. We have expenditures that relate to the security policy, and that it is clearly the number one priority today," Padar told public broadcasting.