Outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), which killed millions of livestock in China leads to a global increase in the prices of pork and bacon. Last year the price of pork in Europe has increased by 31%, and the pigs went up by 56%. Now experts predict a sharp jump of the prices, reports the Agency “КазахЗерно.kz”.
According located in Rome the Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations, in recent years, consumers began to eat more pork. This is due to past earlier outbreaks of bird flu and mad cow disease, the Agency said.
“No matter where you are in the moment, pork prices are rising everywhere. China is a market where we need to focus. First, because it’s big, and secondly, because this is really the first place where the African plague of pigs,” said Rabobank analyst Justin Sherrard. According to him, pork prices will remain high for a minimum of three months up to January 25 — the day will come the New year according to the lunar calendar. The festival is the peak consumption of pork in China, Vietnam and other countries where it is celebrated. Until then, retailers will have no choice but shifting part of the additional costs to buyers, said Sherrard.
Head of research at Euromonitor International in Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand and adjacent Pacific Islands Tim Foulds noted that the virus has significantly affected the pork production in the countries of South-East Asia.
According to the report of the U.S. Department of agriculture, by the end of next year the number of pigs in China will be reduced to 275 million, which is 40% less than in the beginning of 2018, that is, before the outbreak of ASF. With this in mind, world production of pork will decrease by 10%. The decline in domestic meat supplies in China will increase the demand for foreign pork, which will lead to record prices and imports.
