Belgian pig industry fears consequences of Chinese duties

The pig industry in Belgium has expressed its worries after the recent Chinese announcement to impose import duties on European pork. The Belgians have been given a percentage of 62.4% – which is the highest in the range of tariffs. For Spain, for example, the levy is only 15%. Belgium is hardest hit because allegedly pork exporters apparently would not be cooperating with the Chinese authorities’ survey. The Belgian pork association Pork.be retorted that that was simply impossible. After all, in the reference year 2023 Belgium didn’t export any pork China because of the import ban related to ASF outbreaks in Belgium’s wild boar population in 2018. That ban was still in place in 2023. Normally, Belgium annually expects to export roughly 15,000 tons of pork and by-products to China, mainly products like ears and legs. The high duties could lead to a strong downward pressure on the pork prices in the country, the organisation said. On the day after the Chinese announcement, the ...