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Pork production in the EU has seen marginal gains in the first three months of the year compared to 2023. Total production from January to March 2024 sat at 5.42m tonnes, a minimal increase of 0.3% (18,200 tonnes) from the same time in 2023. The majority of the gains in production came from Poland which saw growth of 31,000 tonnes to 485,000 tonnes and Germany at 10,400 tonnes to 1.07m tonnes. This was offset by large declines in key producing countries, such as Spain and Denmark which saw falls of 7,000 and 21,500 tonnes to 1.32m and 344,000 tonnes respectively.
Falls in EU production have limited export opportunities, as total pig meat (including offal) exports have fallen by 6% from 2023 in the year to date (Jan-Apr), to sit at just over 1.3m tonnes. The majority of this decline has come from falling exports to China, which sat 83,000 tonnes lower in the first four months of 2024, to 363,000 tonnes. Other notable falls in volume have come from Japan, sitting 13,200 tonnes lower in 2024 than 2023. There has been some growth to other Asian countries such as South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam to counteract declines.
EU imports of total pig meat (including offal) have fallen by 1,800 tonnes from the year-to-date total of 2023 to 2024. EU imports totaled 46,000 tonnes over this period in 2024, with declines in volumes from the UK and Switzerland. Notable gains have been made by Chile, increasing their volumes shipped by 4,800 tonnes into the EU from 2023 to 2024 year-to-date.
Recently outbreaks of ASF in Germany continue to cause huge disruption, seeing restrictions placed on farm, abattoirs, and butchers’ shops. Similarly, there have been further cases of ASF found in the west of the country close to borders with Belgium and France.
June 25, 2024/ AHDB/ United Kingdom.
https://ahdb.org.uk
