Sabah govt okays frozen pork product imports for CNY

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has approved the import of frozen pork products to meet the Chinese New Year demand, says Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (pic).

The Deputy Chief Minister, who is also state Agriculture and Fishery Minister, said the government will allow the import of pork products until the situation returns to normal.

"This is especially to cater to the demand of the Chinese New Year festive season," he said when contacted on Monday (Jan 2).

Sabah's pig industry had been badly hit by African Swine Fever (ASF) over the past two years, affecting production for the local market.

Kitingan was commenting on Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin's statement that the state was expected to allow the import of 200 tonnes of pork products before Chinese New Year to meet festive demand.

Chan said on Saturday (Dec 31) that many local pig farmers in Sabah had been severely affected by the ASF outbreak over the last two years, with farms forced to shut down.

He said with no vaccine to resolve the epidemic, state authorities had no choice but to cull all pigs within a district where ASF was detected.

Chan, the federal Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister, said he would be meeting with Domestic Trade and Living Costs Minister Salahuddin Ayub later this week to ensure that pork prices do not surge during the Chinese New Year period.