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The Council of Agriculture Ministers of the EU met again on December 12 and 13. Among the topics discussed, the delegation of the Czech Republic, on behalf of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France,
Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and the Slovak Republic, again informed the Commission about the challenges facing the pigmeat sector in Europe. The sector is currently experiencing difficulties as a result of negative trends such as oversaturation of the EU internal market due to high production rates and export disruptions, high feed and energy prices, further outbreaks of African swine fever and the continuing negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The result is that prices for pig carcasses are at their lowest level for a decade, which will potentially have an effect on national economies, rural employment and rural-urban migration. The delegations are calling on the European Commission to take immediate, urgent and concrete actions, and in particular to introduce exceptional EU support measures in line with the provisions of the CAP.
The Czech delegation presented this report:
Critical situation of the pig sector in the EU
Overview of the pig meat market in the EU For some time, the EU pig meat industry has been affected by spreading of African Swine Fever any the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both of these factors have significantly reduced both consumer demand and export possibilities for EU operators. Further economic pressure is caused by rising prices of energy and of agricultural production inputs such as feedingstuffs.
According to EUROSTAT, in the 47th week of this year, the average price in the EU for pig carcasses in cold storage (carcass classes S-E) was 131.1 EUR/100 kg. This price is 5.4% lower than the equivalent figure for the previous year. The piglet price for the same week was 29.9 EUR/piglet. In comparison with the previous year, there has been a significant decrease (- 16.2%).
Overall, the situation in the EU pig meat sector has been very serious for many months now and the outlook is not positive neither. Compared to the year 2017, the current prices of pig meat in the EU are lower by roughly 30 percent and stay at a critically low level below production costs, which threatens the very existence of the EU pig sector.
Conclusions
The pig sector in the EU has been in a deep crisis and the EU must react now. In 2016, the situation was also difficult and the EU saved it using specific measures and financial support. Today, we must not let the sector down and we must save it. The European Commission is the only EU institution that can take effective measures at EU level. Therefore, to counteract the market disturbance and help the EU pig sector to survive, the Czech Republic and Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and the Slovak Republic are calling on the European Commission to take immediate urgent and concrete actions, especially to introduce exceptional EU support measures in line with the CMO regulation.
December 13, 2021/ Consilium/ European Union.
https://data.consilium.europa.eu
