Countries stop importing Belgian pork

There are no fewer than 8 countries that have announced an import ban on Belgian pork. This has to do with the outbreak of African swine fever. The measures are a drain for the pig sector in Belgium.

De outbreak has drastic consequences for Belgium. Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore are not giving up and are deciding not to import pork from Belgium for the time being. This example is followed by countries such as Belarus and Mexico.

Dutch and German slaughterhouses have also recently measures affected, partly by temporarily suspending the import of live pigs from Belgium.

No negotiating room
The measures put a damper on the Belgian pig sector, as it is highly dependent on sales in third markets. About 2017 million tons of pork was produced in Belgium in 1, 10% of which was sold on the world market. The Federation of Belgian Meat (FEBEV) informed Vilt that there was no room for negotiation.

The export of animal feeds from Belgium also encounters problems. For example, countries such as Ukraine, South Korea, China, Belarus and Serbia have indicated that they will not purchase Belgian products for the time being.

5 notifications 
The number of reports of African swine fever in Belgium is increasing. The first observations concerned 2 dead wild boars. The animal disease has now been diagnosed in 5 wild boars.

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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