Inside Pigs
South Korea ramps up pork imports this year
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects South Korea to increase pork imports in 2021. In 2020, the import volume of the country decreased by 2019% compared to 26. South Korea is the number 4 export destination for the European Union.
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The corona crisis caused a significant drop in demand for pork in the Asian country. South Koreans eat a lot of pork out in restaurants, at work/school and at events. Because the government also imposed many gathering restrictions in South Korea, demand declined. Increased indoor consumption could not compensate for this decline. Another factor that plays a role is that meat consumed outside the home is more often imported products than meat eaten at home.
Meat production higher despite livestock reduction
As a result of this development, prices for meat and pigs dropped and Korean pig farmers decided to reduce their pig herd. In December 2020, the sow herd had been reduced by 40.000 heads compared to March that year, to a remaining total of 1.001.000 heads. In June 2019, the number of sows peaked at 1.070.000.
|
Number of sows per December |
|
| 2016 | 974.000 |
| 2017 | 1.058.000 |
| 2018 | 1.063.000 |
| 2019 | 1.026.000 |
| 2020 | 1.001.000 |
Despite the decline in the sow herd, slaughter is actually increasing. The number of slaughters increased by just under 2019% compared to 3 to 18.329.952. That means that there were 504.703 extra pigs hanging on Korean slaughter hooks. This seemingly contradictory development is caused by higher efficiency in South Korean pig farming. According to the USDA, this is due to the improved health of the livestock.
| Number of pigs slaughtered | |
| 2018 | 17.369.032 |
| 2019 | 17.825.249 |
| 2020 | 18.329.952 |
Swine fever appears to be under control
The pig herd in South Korea suffered much less from diseases that negatively affect production in 2020. The number of cases of African swine fever was limited to 2 (2019: 14) and the number of PED cases also decreased. This diarrhea virus, which is fatal for young piglets, was reported 45 times in 2020 (2019: 137). There was also a slight decrease in the number of reports of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), which mainly causes fertility problems in sows.
Imports up
Although meat production increased last year, USDA analysts expect production to come under some pressure in the current year. The cause is the sow herd that was phased out in 2020. Because the USDA further assumes that the corona measures will slowly be relaxed and Koreans are going out more often, it is expected that Korean pork imports will rise again in 2021.