Inside Pigs
Can Polish pig farmer keep his head above water?
The African swine fever (ASF) in Germany has raised the mood in the European pig sector. In combination with the corona crisis, the situation is dire. ASF has been prevalent in Poland for a long time. Can the pig farmers there still keep their heads above water?
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ASF and corona are clearly leaving their mark on the pig market. Sales opportunities are stagnating and slaughter capacity is also experiencing a setback due to corona infections among staff members. The situation is not much different in Poland and the pig sector is also having a hard time. Unlike in Germany, where ASF only affects the boar population, in Poland there are also infections on pig farms.
In previous years, the number of ASF infections in Poland seemed to slowly decrease, but this year there has been no decline. A total of 2020 infected wild boars have been detected since the start of 5.700, more than doubling last year's level.
Export
Polish pig exports are suffering significantly from the current situation. Over the first 9 months of the year, Poland exported a total of approximately 278.000 tons of pork. The level is therefore almost 20% lower than over the same period last year. This has everything to do with the corona crisis. As a result, slaughter capacity decreased and the demand for pork also stagnated. AVP has also played a role in pig exports. Because several Polish pig farms were affected by the disease this year, the supply was lower than normal.
Germany was the main buyer of Polish pork in the first 3 quarters of the year, although exports were lower than last year. Germany imported 33.600 tons of pork from Poland, a decrease of 36% compared to last year.
Import
Not only did pork exports decline in Poland this year, pork imports were also lower. In total, approximately 491.000 tons of pork were imported over the first 9 months of the year. The largest suppliers were Belgium, Germany and Denmark.
emergency aid
Because Polish pig farmers are currently barely able to keep their heads above water, the National Association of Pig Producers (POLPIG) is calling for additional support measures. The Warsaw government has already launched an emergency aid program to help pig farmers, but according to POLPIG this is not enough.
According to the association, the Polish pig market is on the verge of collapse now that pig prices have fallen below €0,90 per kilo. POLPIG therefore calls for additional support measures, such as the use of private warehousing or financing programs for domestic meat products.