ASF Estonia: Multi-million pig industry recovery plan launched
The Estonian agricultural ministry has released a plan to facilitate the construction of 6 pig farms for €75 million to help the industry bounce back after losing nearly a quarter of pig population in a series of African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks in 2025.
Around 62,000 pigs had to be culled in Estonia due to 11 ASF outbreaks registered at pig farms in 2025, the ministry said. At the end of 2025, Estonia’s pig industry comprised of 141 farms, housing 216,500 pigs in total. In 2026, the agricultural ministry will start collecting applications for the farm construction projects seeking state aid, the ministry said.
Declining self-sufficiency
As a result of the ASF outbreaks, Estonia’s level of self-sufficiency in pork dropped from 72% to 50%, according to Priit Dreymann, member of the board of Maag Agro, a prominent pork producer. He shared that figure when speaking to local press. Estonia’s pig industry, which is running at full capacity, experiences difficulties meeting the domestic demand. Should trade with foreign countries get disrupted, then the market will end up experiencing a shortage of supply, Dreymann said.
ASF unlikely to loosen grip
Dreymann added that the measures proposed by the government would be insufficient to overcome the crisis, especially since ASF is unlikely to loosen its grip on the industry in the foreseeable future.
He said, “Summer will return in 6 months, and ASF will begin to spread with renewed vigour. It is unclear what the government is waiting for, as serious action should have been taken last summer.”
ASF continues to spread in Estonia in the wild. One of the 5 wild boar found dead in the Estonian forests is currently infected with ASF. That figure was shared by Johannes Terras, the country’s minister of agriculture. Attempts by Estonian hunters in 2025 did not manage to curb the spread of the disease.
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