MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Russia is raising more and more pigs despite the presence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country, with no serious losses projected for 2024, the situation being stable, Head of the National Meat Association Sergey Yushin said in an interview with TASS.

"Fortunately, the situation with the ASF in the country is more stable than it was 2-3 years ago. Despite the presence of the ASF, we have been boosting both pig stocks and production at a high rate year after year. I hope very much that despite certain hotbeds this year we will not sustain heavy losses," he said.

Russia has learned to live with the virus both in the wild and with hotbeds discovered in households and at farms, Yushin added. "Veterinarians are a key factor at every level here, as they are the ones who largely protect our country from losing its food security today," he noted.

Nowadays, large pig-breeding companies view ensuring biological security as par for the course, costing them upwards of billions of rubles per year, the expert said. "But we cannot ignore it as the risks of losses are too high. Most of our producers spare no expense in protecting production facilities from the virus," he said.

"Russia could also teach other countries how to surivive and develop with the ASF present in the country," Yushin stressed.