EU: Almost 3 million tons of pork exported in the first half of the year

Pork exporters in the European Union (EU) sold more goods to third countries in the first half of 2021 than in the same period of the previous year and even set a new volume record. As can be seen from preliminary data from the EU Commission, 2.96 million tonnes including abattoir by-products were exported; that was 423,000 t or 16.7% more than in the first half of 2020. However, significant slowdowns in EU exports have recently been observed, because in the first quarter of 2021 exports were still up by a good 30%. The flattening growth rate is due to the stalled pork deliveries to China. At 1.69 million t, these were 98,850 t or 6.2% above the level of the first half of 2020, but this has been more than significantly undercut for several months. From the beginning of July, the Chinese reluctance to buy has led to noticeably falling prices for slaughter pigs and pork in the EU. In view of the growing pig population in the People's Republic, according to analysts, record exports ...