German Producers of Pork Depend on Exports of China

When the Coronavirus initially hit German slaughterhouse workers, many pork producers had to stop processing and were also no longer allowed to export to China. As of November 2020, the situation seems to have improved somewhat and production and export are increasing again.

It seems that this trend will not change in the near future as renewed problems in China has increased the pressure on pig farms there. Due to high prices for piglets, fewer farms are interested in running pig fattening farms. It is often only the smaller farms that still fatten pigs for slaughter. These farms, however, are not as well equipped to protect themselves against swine fever. Smaller farms work together, for example by sharing transport wagons and feed mills, both of which increase the chances for the spread of swine fever considerably. The destruction caused by current floods in China is adding even more pressure on top of the already existing problems.

The EU Commission is expecting a decline in Chinese pork production of 15 to 25 percent by the end of 2020. In order to compensate for this, China will continue to depend on increased imports. It is expected that 2020 will still exceed the record year 2019. As reported in August 2020, the price per kilo for pork in Europe has recently risen due to the increased demand. Imports to China were also made easier in January 2020 by reducing import duties on pork (and some other products) from 12 percent to 8 percent, with further reductions still possible.