An analysis of select swine feed ingredients and pork products imported into the United States from African swine fever virus affected countries

Abstract

The potential for feed ingredients to serve as a vehicle for African swine fever virus (ASFV) introduction to the United States remains a significant concern. It is therefore imperative that channels through which high-risk livestock feeds and feed ingredients are imported into the United States from ASFV-positive countries are identified and considered into the USDA's ASF National Response Framework. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the use of a novel analytical tool to categorically quantify pork products and potential high-risk feed ingredients that have entered the United States from ASFV-positive countries over a 5-year period (2016–2020). Data for this study were obtained at the United States International Trade Commission Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) website (www.hs.usitc.gov), a publicly available website that provides transaction information on specific trade commodities between the United States and its international trading partners. A total of 29 high-risk pork products or feed ingredients with the potential to be fed to pigs were analysed. High risk products and ingredients were defined as those that previous research has shown to facilitate extended viral survivability, and includes products such as soybean oilcake, distillers grains, pet food, and pork sausage casings. Data were exported into Microsoft Excel and organized into pivot tables to describe the quantity of each product by country of origin and Port of Entry (POE). The analysis focused on the 60 ASFV-positive countries as currently reported by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). In 2020, a total of 486,902 metric tons (MT) of these high-risk products were imported into the United States from a total of 19 of the 60 foreign countries currently listed as ASFV positive by the OIE. A majority of imported animal feed ingredients came from India in 2020 (85.8%; 392,243 MT), whereas the majority of pork products and by-products were imported from Poland (21,191 MT, 70.6%). Soybean oilcake from India entered the United States through a total of 15 ports of entry (POEs) in 2020. Of these POEs, a total of five POEs received greater than 91% of all of soy oilcake originating from India, including Baltimore, MD (37.7%); San Francisco, CA (30.1%); Seattle, WA (12.7%); New Orleans, LA (5.9%); and Detroit, MI (5.1%). When examining trends over a 5-year period, a few noteworthy findings include the dramatic rise in soybean oilcake imported from India when compared to China, and a dramatic decrease in the total volume of pork sausage casings imported from China into the United States. To support the risk management of feed imports, our novel approach focuses on seaport of highest risk and quantity of product received. Data provided in this report represent an initial listing of suspect pork products and feed ingredients entering the United States, much of which is destined for animal feed. Specific detailed examples are provided in order to demonstrate the tool's flexible interface, which can be quickly modified to zero-in on specific feed ingredients, countries, or POEs depending on what the user's question may be. To the authors’ knowledge, the use of and application of such a tool has not been previously utilized to support ongoing risk mitigation efforts. Potential outlets for future use of the analytical tool will include a more user-friendly and interactive interface providing an inclusive analysis of global livestock feed ingredient sourcing.