Gosschalk slaughterhouse approved for China

Export slaughterhouse Gosschalk from Epe in Gelderland recently obtained an export license to export pork to China.

This makes Gosschalk (after Vion, Van Rooi, Compaxo and Westfort) the fifth Dutch slaughterhouse that is 'China-proof', according to documents from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Of the slaughterhouses, Gosshalk, which slaughters an estimated 10.000 pigs per week, is the smallest player. Gosschalk himself does not want to comment on the license obtained. 

Lucrative sales market 
An export license for China is interesting for slaughterhouses, because the country (with just 1,4 billion inhabitants) is a lucrative market. The demand is particularly good this year. This is because the pig population in China is heading for a halving as a result of African swine fever. According to Rabobank, the meat shortage will rise to . next year 20 million tons.

The good Chinese demand is also reflected in the export figures. In the first 7 months of this year, the Dutch slaughterhouses exported more than 160.000 tons of carcass weight, compared to approximately 2018 tons in the same period in 100.000. This yielded a sloppy €250 million, according to figures from the European Commission.

Tricky package
The continued good Chinese demand means that pig prices can easily withstand the usually weak autumn months. However, slaughterhouses that cannot export to China find themselves in a difficult package. In their own words, they have to buy expensive pigs, but they do not get this translated to their customers.

Danish Crown therefore decided, for example, to open the location in the German Teterow, which was not 'China-worthy'. In addition, the meat processing industry has repeatedly expressed their concerns voiced about the increased pig prices.

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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