China bans German pork imports after African swine fever case

SHANGHAI - China banned pork imports from Germany at the weekend after it confirmed its first case of African swine fever last week, in a move set to hit German producers and push up global prices as China’s meat supplies tighten.

China’s ban on imports from its third largest supplier comes as the world’s top meat buyer deals with an unprecedented pork shortage after its own epidemic of the deadly hog disease.

The ban on Germany, which has supplied about 14 percent of China’s pork imports so far this year, will push up demand for meat from other major suppliers like the United States and Spain, boosting global prices.

German exports to China are worth around 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) annually, and volumes had doubled in the first four months of this year on soaring demand after Chinese output shrank around 20 percent.

A spokeswoman for the German Food and Agriculture Ministry confirmed the ban, adding that the ministry remained in talks with the Chinese government on the matter.

German farmers on Friday urged China to avoid a nationwide ban on imports of their pork, and the agriculture ministry said it had asked Beijing to apply a regional approach to the swine fever case.

But the ban, announced by China’s customs agency and its agriculture ministry, had been widely anticipated given Beijing’s history of moving quickly to implement bans in such cases.

The move is expected to benefit other major suppliers like the United States, Spain and Brazil.

- REUTERS.