SINGAPORE – Travellers to the Philippines carrying pig products from Singapore will have their items confiscated, after a temporary ban imposed by the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture on Monday.

The ban comes after the recent detection of African swine fever in the Republic.

Although Singapore is not an accredited exporter of porcine products to the Philippines, the ban includes products carried by hand – with pork, pig skin and pig semen cited as examples.

The ban will remain in force until a revocation is issued in writing, said Mr Domingo Panganiban, senior undersecretary of the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture.

Besides confiscating such products at all major ports of entry, the Philippines would not be issuing any sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for pig products from Singapore henceforth, he added.

Such clearances are required when importing animals, animal feed and ingredients, as well as animal products and by-products into the country.

The latest restriction on pig products from Singapore comes after African swine fever was detected in a wild boar carcass in the north-west of the island in February.

The disease, which infects only pigs and wild boars, affects multiple body systems, including the respiratory and circulatory systems. However, it is not transmissible to humans.

While Singapore does not have any pig farms, wild boars are native to the country and can be found in nature reserves, parks and other green spaces.

In February, Taiwan similarly imposed restrictions on the import of pork products from Singapore.

Foreign visitors to Taiwan who import such products face a fine of NT$200,000 (S$8,800) for the first offence, while repeat offenders will be fined NT$1 million.

If they are unable to pay the fine, they will be denied entry to Taiwan and repatriated.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said it had received an official notification from the Philippines Department of Agriculture regarding the export ban.

Although it advised travellers to comply with the regulations set by their destination countries when taking food overseas, SFA said that the pork products made in Singapore are made from imported pork.

The imported pork must come from regions free from African swine fever, and pork products made here undergo heat treatment to meet the World Organisation for Animal Health’s guidelines to inactivate the virus.

It added: “SFA is working with various authorities to clarify that our pork products are not affected by the recent detection of African swine fever in wild boars in Singapore.”