South Africa pork prices may drop 15% due to export ban

Pork prices in South Africa may drop up to 15% after the country's recent ban on exports of meat and live animals due to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, according to reports.
The South Africa Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on Feb. 28, that it was halting exports of cattle, sheep and other cloven-hoof animals and their products for at least three months after roughly 300 animals tested positive for the virus. There are about 4,000 commercial pig farmers in South Africa, employing 10,000 people.
According to Jacobus Hoffman, general manager of Premier Pork Producers, while only 3% of local production is exported, the additional meat will drive down prices as local producers compete with imports from Canada and Germany.

Iowa startup creates H1N1 vaccine for pigs

Sirrah Bios, the brainchild of animal science professor Hank Harris, has developed a vaccine to protect hogs from the H1N1 virus, according to reports.
The vaccine awaits a United States Department of Agriculture conditional license, expected in 2010, before it is commercially available.
The company was a grant recipient of Grow Iowa Values Fund which awarded Sirrah Bios $679,663.