Analysis Pigs
China strikes deal with Spain: pork takes centre stage
China has signed two agreements with Spain, including one on pork exports. This move comes against the backdrop of an escalating trade war between China and the United States. The agreement has been welcomed with enthusiasm, as it is seen as a signal that Chinese trade restrictions on European meat will remain in place for the time being.
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The agreements were announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during his visit to Beijing on Friday. They come on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Chinese products by 145%. In response, China increased tariffs on US goods by 125%. The increase came on top of existing tariffs, bringing the total import duty on US pork to 172%.
Is Europe benefiting?
This is good news for the European pork market. At the end of last year, China announced an investigation into alleged 'European dumping practices', after the European Union had proposed increasing import tariffs on Chinese cars. Danish Crown, Vion Boxtel and the Spanish company Litera Meat SLU were explicitly named. The renewed interest in Spanish pork is seen as a sign that China is currently treating the European market more friendly, now that relations with the United States are under further strain. In the European pig sector, there were previously fears that companies would have difficulty selling their by-products, as there are few markets worldwide where high prices are paid for products such as pig organs, snouts and feet.
This involves significant volumes. In 2024, the United States exported 467.000 tons of pork to China, worth $1,27 billion. Some 321.500 tons of this, or 68,9% of this export, consists of by-products. The European Union will probably no longer have to worry about the sale of its by-products for the time being. Although China prefers imports from Brazil, the Brazilian market is still too small to replace the American volume of pork, let alone the combined exports from the United States and the European Union.
The European Union exported 1,15 million tonnes of pork to China last year, of which 650.000 tonnes, or 56,5%, consisted of by-products. Although the record level of 3,3 million tonnes in 2020 is still a long way off, a further decline now seems unlikely. This trend was already apparent early in the year, with the first sign being higher exports in January. In that month, total exports to China amounted to 105.500 tonnes, an increase of 6,6% compared to the previous year.
Pig stomachs
Part of the agreement is the authorisation of the export of pig stomachs to China. This product, which is very popular in Chinese cuisine, was not allowed to be exported from Spain to China before the treaty.