Pork exports only a fraction lower in 2021

The total exported Pork volume by European Union countries fell to 375.000 tons in December. One year earlier, 549.000 tons of pork were exported from the European Union in this month. This concerns a drop of almost 175.000 tons, or 32%. The sharp drop in the volume shipped to China is largely responsible for the decline.

The amount of pork shipped to the People's Republic in December amounted to just 129.000 tons. In December 2020, European exporters still sold almost 283.000 tons of pork to this country. Figures from Chinese customs show that the country has mainly reduced the import of high-quality meat parts. The volume of imports of slaughter by-products remained stable.

Increase in exports to other countries in December
While exports to China suffered a significant blow, the countries from the European Union were able to increase exports to a large number of other countries. For example, exports to Korea increased by 150% to 35.000 tons. Exports to Japan also increased by about 28% to 32.000 tons, exports to the Philippines increased by 33% to 28.000 tons and exports to Australia increased by about 150% to 15.000 tons. However, China's reliance on export markets is canceling out the increases.

The development of export volumes throughout the year is a good reflection of the weak year-end close. While volumes were well above 2020 levels at the start of the year, the numbers quickly and sharply fell below this level by mid-year. The strong start to the year has meant that the volume for the whole of 2021 is only a fraction below the level of 2020.