China demand continues to drive the growth of EU pork exports

EU fresh/frozen pork exports in August reached 294,500 tonnes, according to AHDB analyst Bethan Wilkins, which marks an increase of 34% year-on-year. Ms Wilkins said: “Growth was almost entirely driven by another strong performance in the leading market, China, where volumes roughly doubled compared to August 2019. The EU continues to help fill the gap left by China’s African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, which has been constraining production volumes.” Most other major markets, including the UK and Japan, imported less EU pork than a year earlier. The fall in exports to the UK continued a trend that has generally been in place throughout 2020, with volumes down 12% for the year to date. Exports to the fourth-largest market, Vietnam, also fell by nearly 40% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast continued to emerge as a key market, accounting for over 4% of shipments in August. Since August, there has been more disruption to EU pork exports to China, particularly due to the ban on ...