SHANGHAI- China banned pork importing from Germany after confirmed its first case of African swine fever last week. This move set to hit German producers and push up global prices as China’s meat supplies tighten. Germany is the third-largest supplier that comes as the world’s top meat buyer deals with an unprecedented pork shortage after its own epidemic of the deadly hog disease.
Germany has supplied about 14% of China’s pork imports so far this year, will push up demand for meat from other major suppliers like the United States and Spain, boosting global prices. German pork exports to China are worth around 1 billion euros annually, and volumes had doubled in the first four months of this year on soaring demand after Chinese output shrank around 20%.
Germany’s huge pork sales to China involve huge volumes of pigs’ ears, feet, and tails. These are hardly eaten in Europe and the ban has created intense concern among German farmers about where this can now be sold. African swine fever spreads through contact with infected animals’ body fluids and can also be spread by people and trucks. It is almost always fatal in pigs and there is no cure or vaccine available. It does not harm people.
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