Swine fever pandemic adds to German pain as pork exports banned
An outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) threatens to keep German pork locked in the European Union with China, South Korea and Japan all banning shipments, a major setback in an already challenging year for meat producers following Covid-19 outbreaks at plants.
German wholesale pig prices fell 14% on Friday after a case of ASF was found in a wild boar in the east of the country and major buyers on the international market quickly responded by banning shipments from the EU’s top producer in what was due to be a big sales year.
In China, the world’s biggest pork producer, the disease caused hundreds of millions of pigs to be culled and raised imports of protein from other sources.
German pork exports to China
doubled during the first four months of this year on soaring demand after Chinese output shrank.
“The Chinese export stop is a hard blow for farmers and for industry in Germany,” André Vielstaedte, spokesperson for Germany’s largest meatpacker and exporter Toennies, said.
African swine fever spreads through contact with infected animals and can also be spread by people and trucks.
It is almost always fatal in pigs but does not harm people.
Germany has sought a limited, regional ban on exports as the outbreak near the Polish border is hundreds of kilometres from the major producing region in northwest Germany.
Whereas the concept of a regional ban exists in intra-EU trade, China has so far stuck to a national ban.
German exports included large tonnages of pig parts such as ears, noses and feet which are regarded as delicacies in Asia but are unwanted in Europe.
Sellers will struggle to make similar margins on products normally sold to Asia.
“If supermarkets use this as an opportunity to keep prices low then the future of many pig farmers is in doubt and many could close,” said Matthias
Quaing of German pig farmers’ association ISN.
China’s pork imports surged by 75% in 2019 and have continued to climb in 2020.
The ban of German shipments should, therefore, provide major opportunity for rival exporters and CME lean hog futures have risen to a sixmonth high.
” Germany’s
China will be pork sales to replaced by a series of other exporters such as the US, Spain, Canada and Brazil,” Rabobank analyst Justin Sherrard said.
US exporters seem particularly well placed to pickup sales. The ban should also provide a boost to already rising shipments of pork from Brazil to China.
In August, Brazil sold 50,700 tonnes of pork to China, up 168% from the same month a year ago and accounting for more than half of total export sales of 98,500 tonnes, according to ABPA, the association representing pork and poultry processors.
The EU industry will be hoping that as much business as possible will be won by Spain, China’s top supplier, Denmark and the Netherlands to prevent oversupply within the trading bloc.—
If supermarkets use this as an opportunity to keep prices low then the future of many pig farmers is in doubt