ASF hits Polish pork exports to China
Greenfront deals with environmental and epizootic issues in Eastern European countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Russia.
In particular, says Piotr Ziemann, deputy head of the Association of Polish Butchers and Meat Producers (SRW RP), the eradication of ASF in the country is a prerequisite for the resumption of pork trade with China. However, according to him, ASF-infected wild boars continue to penetrate Poland from neighbouring Belarus, so the situation remains complicated.
"At the beginning of last year, industry representatives proposed putting a fence on the border, which would prevent wild boars from Belarus entering Poland, and would make it effective to shoot [boars] on the Polish side. To date [in Poland], 58 cases of ASF in wild boars and three cases in domestic pigs have been identified," he stated.
SRW RP says ASF has "ruined" Polish pork exports to China, South Korea, Japan and Russia and has brought the industry overall losses of PLN1.5 billion (US$422m) for breeders and meat producers over the last year. Representatives of the organisation also stated that the situation was worsening, with a lack of state support.
"The government has little interest in the problems of pig producers. The whole industry is on its own and cannot even count on support," claimed Ziemann.
According to official information, in 2013 Poland exported pork products worth a total of US$1.86bn. Prior to ASF, in 2013 Poland exported pork to China valued at €67m (US$80m), which made it one of the largest export destinations for the country’s pork producers.
According to Chinese customs, in the first quarter of 2015, the country increased imports of fresh pork by 6% and processed pork products by 9% year-on-year, with 72% of all supplies coming from the EU.
At present, Poland exports only small amounts of pork to China via Hong Kong. Meanwhile, said Ziemann: "Local importers [recently] raised their margins, so it is often not profitable for Polish companies to supply pork products this way."
The country’s meat processors also admitted the pork industry was under pressure due to oversupply.
Anna Kaczorowski, head of Polish slaughterhouse Józan, said the problem with the sale of meat lies in the fact that many farmers are abandoning pork production. According to her, the recent outbreaks of ASF continue to heavily affect the industry. "There are a lot of wild boars in the country. They continue to destroy crops and create a risk of spreading the disease," she added.
Ian Zdanovsky, co-owner of slaughterhouse Wierzejki, agrees, adding that the industry is continuing to suffer from the Russian embargo implemented in August 2014. "It is also difficult to sell the meat within the EU as, in many countries, there is oversupply," he stated.
