Germany reports fall in pork consumption
Pork consumption in Germany was down by 10% last year compared to figures reported in 2018 and it was not only the vegan movement or the flexitarianism trend that accentuated the decline but also a rise in prices for pork products due to increased demand from China.
Germany's pig meat production in 2019 was down about 2% (-117,000 tonnes) on the year before and supplies have become tighter leading to an increase of 80% in prices between March 2019 and the end of the year. At the same time, the country's pig meat shipments to China were up by 61%, accounting for 20% of total pork exports.
The increase in pork prices was also reflected in Germany's exports to other countries in the EU. "These shipments decreased by 7%. The decline was driven by Poland and Italy in particular. At retail level, Italian pork purchases fell by 4% last year", observes Bethan Wilkins, Senior Analyst at AHDB.
Germany is also a major importer and exporter of live pigs. Imports were down 5% at 13.4 million head, with shipments of both weaners and slaughter pigs falling. Live exports were down nearly 25% at 1.9 million head, mainly due to fewer weaner pigs being shipped to Hungary and Romania. Both of these countries are affected by ASF outbreaks.
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