Biggest pig farm in Romania, owned by foreign investors, hit by African swine fever

The African swine fever virus was confirmed at the biggest pig farm in Romania, located in Gropeni, Braila county. The farm has 135,000 to 140,000 animals, which will be culled and burned or buried starting Monday to prevent the virus from spreading, according to the authorities, local News.ro reported. The whole operation will take up to a month. The swine complex at Gropeni, which includes three farms, is the biggest in the country and the second-biggest in Europe, according to the authorities. The complex belongs to the company Tebu Consult Invest, which had a turnover of EUR 41 million and over 250 employees in 2017, according to data from the Finance Ministry. The company is controlled by two foreign investors, Johan David Bies and Per Carl Gunnar Johannesson. The African swine fever has already caused big damages in South-Eastern Romania, where several big farms have been hit by the outbreak, especially in Tulcea and Braila county. The farmers whose pigs are culled due to the virus receive compensations from the state. African swine fever continues to expand in Romania editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)