Parliament committee: Extra money is needed for restoration of pig farming in Estonia

TALLINN - The Riigikogu rural affairs committee on Monday emphasized the need to find additional funding to restore pig farming in Estonia, which has been damaged due to outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF).

Urmas Kruuse, the chairman of the committee, praised the swift response of the government and various agencies to ASF, but stressed the need to find additional funds both domestically and from the European Union.

"In addition to compensating for the pigs that have to be culled, compensation measures related to ASF should also be created for the pork industry, as the industry is part of a strategic value chain," Kruuse said.

Ants-Hannes Viira, head of agricultural policy at the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, who provided an overview of the agricultural sector's perspective, emphasized that the pig farming sector is currently in an existential crisis, as 20 percent of Estonian pigs have been culled or are scheduled for culling.

"Such a large-scale decrease in the number of pigs, especially sows, puts the sector in a very difficult situation -- at least 24,000 fattening pigs will not be produced, and it will take a minimum of two years to restore the population. This also means a two-year gap in products made from Estonian pork. According to experts, the estimated losses for the sales sector amount to around 41.5 million euros, Viira said.

"Restoring the pig population will definitely require additional investments. Investments targeted at pig farming should clearly be prioritized to ensure the country's self-sufficiency level, which, due to ASF, is estimated to drop to 39 percent next year. Breeding activities, which have been severely affected by African swine fever, also need to be restored. According to the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, options are being sought to compensate meat processing companies for costs related to the destruction of their products," he added.