How Does FMD Finding in Germany Impact Global Pork Trade?
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Despite a 25% decline in production over the past decade, Germany remains a global leader in pork exports, particularly to the rest of the European Union. In this week’s audio report, USMEF Vice President of Economic Analysis Erin Borror looks at how the recent finding of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Germany could impact global pork trade.
FMD was detected in a water buffalo herd at a small exotic farm near Berlin. Germany immediately worked to isolate the impacted animals and trace the origin. But because of the FMD detection, most livestock products cannot be exported outside of the EU.
As Borror explains, three of the main export markets for German pork present challenges for any market share gains for U.S. pork. The United Kingdom and Vietnam have significant tariffs on U.S. pork as well as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers. And while the U.S. does significant pork trade with South Korea, most Korean imports of German pork are bellies, which are always in strong demand domestically in the U.S.
Germany’s pork production peaked in 2011 near 5.6 million metric tons, and at that time Germany was the EU’s largest producer. Germany was surpassed by Spain in 2020 following detection of African swine fever, but Germany still accounts for roughly one-fifth of EU pork production. More than 80% of Germany’s pork exports are to other EU member states.