Bulgarian pig price rises rapidly

The price for pork in Bulgaria has risen sharply in recent months and the increase is not expected to end, according to the Bulgarian Association of Meat Processors. The price hike is caused by the outbreaks of African swine fever, which have reportedly forced the country to cull 20% of its pig population.

The country knew last week the fifth outbreak in 2 weeks time. That is why Dessislava Taneva, the Minister of Agriculture, has given the order to start the voluntary slaughter of pigs on the 'backyard farms'. These are often small-scale, unregistered pig farms. If these pig farmers ignore this, the food safety service has a license to switch to compulsory culling of the pigs on these farms.

Large-scale protests
The agriculture minister's decision sparked large-scale protests from pig farmers. For example, they blocked the road from Sliven to Yambol, one of the main transport routes in the country. In addition, several regional authorities have indicated that they do not support the decision of the Minister of Agriculture. According to the authorities, insufficient compensation measures have been put in place.

However, the minister maintains the position that backyard farms have poor hygiene and therefore promote the spread of the virus. A preliminary investigation by the veterinary services shows that the first outbreaks were probably caused by the crossing of wild boars from neighboring Romania.

High pig prices
About 75% of the costs for fighting African swine fever come from the European Commission, writes European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis. The ministry in Bulgaria expects the costs to total approximately $344 million (€308 million). In addition, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture added: Global Meat News know that the country is reportedly losing 100.000 pigs due to the animal disease. This is about 20% of the total pig population in the country.

As a result, the pork price has risen by at least 30% over the past few weeks; converted from € 4,50 to € 7,50 per kilo. In addition, local farmers are concerned about the impending meat shortage, so they expect the price to rise by another 15% in the autumn months. In fact, the Association of Meat Processors expects the price to rise by 50% by the end of the year to its all-time high.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.