Vietnamese vaccine against ASF: Ukrainian pig farmers oppose registration without official recognition

The Association "Swine Farmers of Ukraine" expressed deep concern about the possibility of registering in Ukraine a Vietnamese-made vaccine against African swine fever (ASF). Industry representatives emphasize the inadmissibility of using this drug before its official recognition at the state level.

The vaccine candidate from the Vietnamese company AVAC Vietnam JSC reportedly does not currently have a confirmed safety status. This creates risks of deterioration of the epizootic situation in Ukraine. It is worth noting that none of the available ASFV vaccine candidates has yet passed all the necessary tests to prove safety.

Experts emphasize that the issue of vaccine registration concerns not only individual enterprises that may decide to use unregistered drugs. We are talking about serious consequences for the entire pig industry, including risks for international trade and Ukraine's integration into the European Union.

The Association "Swine Farmers of Ukraine" actively participates in the discussion of this issue, involving relevant departments, scientific institutions, as well as Ukrainian and international organizations. The participants of the discussions emphasize the need for further monitoring of the development of the vaccine against ASF, however, during a round table under the auspices of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on March 27, it was decided not to support the initiative to register the Vietnamese-made vaccine.

Despite this, there is a lot of incorrect information about the potential vaccine and its registration in the Ukrainian media space. The association warns that such information may be part of manipulations aimed at lobbying the interests of certain interested parties, as well as harm the reputation of the pig industry of Ukraine.

It is worth noting that in June 2024, the director of AVAC Vietnam stated that Ukraine, following Romania, submitted an application for registration of the AVAC ASF Live vaccine. Earlier it was reported that the company transferred 10,000 doses of this drug to Romania. However, Ukraine has not yet received an official response from Vietnam regarding the effectiveness of this vaccine.

On the other hand, the "Meat Industry" association claims that Ukraine could receive 400,000 doses of the vaccine as early as 2023, but due to the opposition of the "Svynary of Ukraine" leadership, the drug is still unavailable. Representatives of the meat industry note that Ukraine has already lost 30% of its pig population to ASF, and further delays in the registration of the vaccine could lead to catastrophic consequences for the entire pig industry of the country.