The EU’s trade balance for pigmeat is largely positive, with annual exports worth nearly EUR 6 billion in recent years. The main client for EU exports is now China, followed by Japan, Hong Kong, Philippines and South Korea.
Global demand for pigmeat is continuously growing and the EU was able to benefit from increased import demand in China in particular. The expansion of the Chinese import market is related partly to continuous increase in consumption but in 2015 also to the fact that many small farms have stopped activity due to stricter environmental requirements. This domestic supply shortage created increased demand for imports and also pushed up pigmeat prices in China. More than half of EU exports of pigmeat to China (61% as an average by export value since 2013) are offal, the remaining exports consist of frozen shoulders, bellies and other frozen cuts in particular.
Destinations and unit value of EU pigmeat exports (2013 — 2015)
Pigmeat from the EU has been very competitive in the last couple of years with prices lower or comparable to those of its main competitors, the US and Brazil. However, this also translates into lower returns for the EU pigmeat sector.
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