The current outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus is having a "devastating effect" on Canada's pork industry, chair of the Canadian Pork Council said Monday while urging trading partners not to ban Canadian pork products.

"The world should not limit the movement of pork from one country to another because it is not a food safety issue, but a human health issue," Jurgen Preugschas, chair of the Canadian Pork Council, told Xinhua from Edmonton, Alberta in a telephone interview on Monday.

He stressed that eating pork is safe and will not lead to H1N1 flu infections. "You cannot get H1N1 flu from eating any food, so do not ban any kind of food because of this outbreak," he said.

The effect that this outbreak is having on Canadian pork industry is "devastating," he said.

The price of pigs that Canadian farmers get paid have dropped from 10 Canadian dollars to 20 Canadian dollars (some US$8 to US$16) since the outbreak started, he said.

He hoped that countries which are banning Canadian pork will stop doing so soon.

As to Canada's domestic pork market, he said he has not noticed any changes so far. "At this point, it appears that the domestic market has not changed."

He said he could not predict the future, adding "this is a very rapidly changing situation."

Preugschas also confirmed news report that Canada's total export of hogs have dropped by 42.8 percent during the first three months of 2009, but stressed that this was partly caused by reduced trade with the United States and not linked to the current outbreak.

According to Canadian media reports, the Philippines, El Salvador, Honduras, Ukraine and other countries have stopped accepting all Canadian pork.

China has banned imports only from Alberta after some pigs in that province were found to have been infected with the virus.

Farmers are speculating that their biggest exporter market, the United States, may follow China's suit this week. Both countries have expressed concern that the flu will contaminate domestic herds.

As the latest figure on Monday, the World Health Organization says there have been 1,025 cases of the H1N1 flu virus and 26 deaths from the virus in Mexico.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2009)