Philippines moves to commercialise ASF vaccine as livestock sector posts 5.1% growth
Officials say areas affected by ASF continue to decline as livestock output increases.
PHILIPPINES – The Philippines’ Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is seeking to commercialise the AVAC live vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) after government vaccination trials found it safe and effective, as the country’s livestock sector recorded 5.1% growth in the first quarter of 2026.
BAI Director Christian Daquigan said the vaccine achieved a 90% efficacy rate under the government’s controlled vaccination programme and stated that making it commercially available is necessary to support continued recovery in the swine industry.
The move comes as the number of ASF-affected areas across the country continues to fall, following several years in which the disease spread widely through both backyard and commercial pig farms.
According to the BAI, the commercialisation process could move more quickly once responsibility for regulating animal health products shifts from the Food and Drug Administration to the bureau under the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act.
Daquigan said the vaccine’s current registration with the Food and Drug Administration is expected to expire around July, after which regulatory oversight will be transferred to the BAI in line with the provisions of the new legislation.
At the same time, the bureau is assessing applications from six vaccine suppliers based in the United States, Vietnam, South Korea and Thailand, although officials have not identified the companies involved or indicated when approvals could be issued.
ASF was first confirmed in the Philippines in July 2019 in Rizal province near Manila before spreading to pig-producing regions across the country, with outbreaks reported in between 73 and 76 of the country’s 82 provinces by 2024 and 2025.
Although active outbreaks had fallen considerably by early 2026, the disease has had a lasting effect on the country’s swine industry because infected pigs have an almost 100% mortality rate and there is still no cure, leaving culling, movement controls, biosecurity measures and vaccination as the main methods of disease control.
Government and industry data show that more than 300,000 pigs were culled from approximately 19,700 infected farms between August 2019 and July 2022, while broader estimates indicate that between 3 million and 5 million pigs have either died or been destroyed since the disease first emerged.
The outbreak also reduced the national swine inventory from about 12.7 million head before ASF was detected in 2019 to around 9.86 million by September 2023, with backyard producers bearing much of the impact as financial losses were estimated at between PHP100 billion (US$1.7 billion) and more than PHP200 billion (US$3.4 billion), prompting the government to increase pork imports to help stabilise domestic supply.
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